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THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


CAPITAL,  LABOR,  AND 
THE  CHURCH 


First  Printing,  October,  1918 
Second  Printing,  June,  1919 
Third  Printing,  October,  1919 


THE 

WORLD  PROBLEM 

CAPITAL,  LABOR,  AND 
THE  CHURCH 


BY 

Rev.  JOSEPH  HUSSLEIN,  S.J.,  Ph.D. 

ASSOCIATE  EDITOR  OF  “AMERICA,”  LECTURER  FORDHAM 
UNIVERSITY  SCHOOL  OF  SOCIOLOGY,  AUTHOR  OF 
“THE  CATHOLIC’S  WORK  IN  THE  WORLD,” 

“THE  CHURCH  AND  POLITICS,”  ETC. 


“  The  desire  of  money  is  the  root  of  all  evils” —  I  Tim.  vi:  10 


REVISED  EDITION 


NEW  YORK 
P.  J.  KENEDY  &  SONS 
1919 

BOS f UN  -  t  >-  L.I l» kAkY 

CHESTNUT  HILL,  MASS.. 


\\o 


Jmprimt  ©otejst: 

Josephus  H.  Rockwell,  S.J. 
Propositus  Prov.  M  aryl  audio  N eo-Eboracens\s 

fittyii  flDbjatat: 

Arthurus  T.  Scanlan,  S.T.D. 

Censor  Librorum 

Imprimatur : 

Josephus  F.  Mooney 

Administrator 

Neo-Eboraci 

die  21,  Septembrisy  1018 


COPYRIGHT,  1918,  BY  P-  J.  KENEDY  &  SONS 


1644 


14 


\ 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 

/ 

PAGE 

Preface— Message  of  Cardinal  Bourne  . 

•  • 

Vll 

—1. 

Suppressed  Catholicism  of  Labor  . 

3 

II. 

Our  Social  and  Economic  Problems 

13 

All. 

The  Substance  of  Socialism  . 

24 

IV. 

Rationalistic  Capitalism  .... 

35 

V. 

Ethics  of  Just  Prices . 

44 

VI. 

Morality  of  Monopolistic  Prices  . 

53 

VII. 

Problem  of  the  Middleman  . 

65 

VIII. 

The  State  and  Labor . 

75 

IX. 

The  State  and  Wages  .  .  .  '  . 

87 

X. 

Duties  of  Labor  and  Capital 

99 

XI. 

Strikes  and  Trade  Agreements. 

hi 

XII. 

The  Sympathetic  Strike  .... 

123 

XIII. 

Problem  of  Unemployment 

130 

XIV. 

Is  there  Work  for  All?  .... 

145 

XV. 

The  Great  Farm  Problem  .... 

154 

XVI. 

Church  and  Labor  Organizations  . 

171 

XVII. 

Social  Legislation  .  .  . 

185 

XVIII. 

Democratic  Control  of  Industries  . 

201 

XIX. 

Methods  of  Cooperation  .... 

211 

XX. 

Possibilities  of  Cooperation  . 

220 

V 


VI 


CONTENTS 


XXI.  The  State  and  Property  ....  232 

XXII.  The  Woman  Worker . 241 

XXIII.  The  Woman  Labor  Problem  .  .  .  251 

XXIV.  Welfare  of  the  Woman  Laborer  .  261 

XXV.  Christian  Democracy . 272 

Our  Social  Aims  in  Brief . 285 

Appendix . 287 

Index . 293 


PREFACE 


Message  of  Cardinal  Bourne 

The  social  message  of  the  Catholic  Church  is  of 
interest  to  all  mankind.  Her  wisdom  aided  in 

i 

solving  the  greatest  of  social  problems  in  the  past, 
and  her  lessons  are  of  equal  importance  in  the 
present  time.  Hence  it  is  to  all  alike  that  this 
book  is  addressed.  In  its  plain  exposition  of 
Catholic  morality  and  its  application  of  historic 
facts  there  is  no  animosity  or  ill  will  towards  any 
person,  whether  capitalist  or  laborer,  Catholic  or 
Protestant,  Jew  or  unbeliever,  but  a  burning  desire 
to  be  of  service  to  all. 

Though  issued  in  time  of  war  and  serving  as  a 
preparation  for  the  return  of  peace,  the  book  is 
not  restricted  in  its  purpose  to  any  particular 
period.  It  deals  with  the  fundamental  problems 
of  modern  life  and  with  the  unchanging  principles 
of  social  justice  and  Christian  charity  as  studied 
from  the  Catholic  point  of  view.  It  is  a  work, 
therefore,  equally  necessary  in  all  seasons. 

In  place  of  personally  setting  forth  the  peculiar 

•  • 

Vll 


Vlll 


PREFACE 


nature  and  importance  of  his  theme,  the  author 
is  happy  to  avail  himself  of  the  opportunity  of 
having  for  his  spokesman  no  less  an  authority  than 
the  eloquent  Cardinal  Archbishop  of  Westminster, 
whose  stirring  pastoral  on  “  Catholics  and  Social 
Reform  ”  was  published  just  as  the  following 
chapters  were  practically  completed.  The  words 
of  the  illustrious  prelate  contain  in  brief  the  same 
message  that  the  writer  has  sought  to  convey  in 
greater  detail. 

The  world,  as  the  Cardinal  says,  is  looking  for¬ 
ward  to  a  new  order  of  things,  new  social  condi¬ 
tions,  and  new  relations  between  the  different 
sections  of  society.  In  this  transformation  the 
Catholic  Church  is  best  prepared  to  take  a  leading 
part,  as  she  has  so  gloriously  done  in  no  less  criti¬ 
cal  periods  of  history.  The  new  social  order  that 
she  proposes  is  firmly  based  on  Christian  princi¬ 
ples.  Her  present  task  is  to  preserve  whatever 
is  true  and  noble  in  modern  civilization,  and  to 
direct,  with  her  wisdom  of  twenty  centuries,  the 
rightful  development  of  all  just  democratic  ideals 
which  nowhere  find  a  more  profound  response 
than  within  her  breast. 

Her  principles  of  social  reform  cannot  fail  to 
recommend  themselves  to  the  millions  of  men  and 


PREFACE 


IX 


women,  not  in  one  country  only,  but  over  all  the 
earth.  Says  Cardinal  Bourne: 

“  There  are  certain  leading  features  of  the 
modern  labor  unrest  which,  though  their  expres¬ 
sions  may  be  crude  and  exaggerated,  we  recognize 
as  the  true  lineaments  of  the  Christian  spirit.  Its 
passion  for  fair  treatment  and  for  liberty;  its  re¬ 
sentment  at  bureaucratic  interferences  with  family 
life;  its  desire  for  self-realization  and  opportuni¬ 
ties  of  education;  above  all,  its  conviction  that  per¬ 
sons  are  of  more  value  than  property  —  these 
surely  give  us  points  of  contact  and  promise  a 
sympathetic  welcome  to  our  message. 

“  We  have  only  to  show  what  is  involved  in 
these  excellent  ideals,  for  which  we  ourselves  have 
labored  and  suffered  —  how  there  can  be  no  rights 
without  duties,  how  liberty  implies  responsibility, 
how  suicidal  is  class  war,  how  the  Commandments 
of  God  are  not  only  an  obligation  but  a  protection 
for  man. 

“  If  we  review  the  main  principles  of  Catholic 
social  teaching  we  shall  observe  how  many  of  the 
utterances  of  ‘  modern  unrest  ’  are  merely  exag¬ 
gerated  or  confused  statements  of  those  very  prin¬ 
ciples;  and  since,  as  has  been  truly  said,  ‘the 


X 


PREFACE 


Catholic  Church  is  not  afraid  of  enthusiasm,’  we 
should  not  find  it  hard  to  put  before  the  most 
ardent  their  own  ideals,  in  a  more  coherent  and 
satisfying  form  than  they  could  do  it  for  them¬ 
selves. 

“  If  they  take  their  stand  upon  the  dignity  of 
man,  whether  rich  or  poor,  we  can  show  them  how 
every  human  being,  created  by  God  and  redeemed 
by  Christ,  has  a  much  greater  dignity  than  they 
had  dreamt  of.  If  they  claim  for  every  human 
being  a  right  to  a  share  in  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  a 
right  to  live  a  life  worthy  of  man,  we  endorse  that 
claim  with  Divine  sanctions.  If  they  protest 
against  industrial  insecurity  and  the  concentration 
of  capital  in  a  few  hands,  we  point  out  how  they 
are  suffering  from  the  blow  aimed  at  the  Catholic 
Church  in  the  sixteenth  century.  If  they  have  had 
a  hard  fight  to  establish  the  right  of  association  in 
trades  unions,  it  was  because  the  Catholic  voice 
had  been  silenced  in  the  land.  If  their  instinct  for 
education  and  self-realization  has  been  stirred,  it 
is  but  the  awakening  of  an  instinct  developed 
among  the  people  in  Catholic  days  before  our  uni¬ 
versities  and  secondary  schools  were  diverted  from 
their  original  purpose. 

“  When  once  people  come  to  see  that  we  share 


PREFACE 


XI 


their  aspirations  they  will  be  more  ready  to  listen 
when  we  show  them  what  those  aspirations  involve. 
They  will  learn  to  distrust  false  prophets  and 
specious  theorists.  They  will  understand  how 
might  is  not  right;  how  society  is  not  a  conglomera¬ 
tion  of  warring  atoms,  but  a  brotherhood;  how  the 
family,  which  is  the  bulwark  of  liberty,  would  be 
injured  by  the  introduction  of  divorce  or  the  weak¬ 
ening  of  parental  authority;  how  property  has  its 
rights,  however  much  those  rights  may  have  been 
exaggerated;  that  cordial  cooperation  among  all 
classes  of  society  is  necessary  if  their  ideals  are  to 
be  realized. 

“  Understanding  all  these  truths  as  parts  of  one 
Christian  scheme  of  life,  may  we  not  hope  that  the 
people  of  this  country  will  come  to  have  a  new  con¬ 
ception  of  what  Christianity  means?  Finding  a 
guide  whom  they  can  trust  in  the  complex  social 
problems  of  today,  will  they  not  examine  the  claims 
of  the  Catholic  Church  to  guide  them  in  those  re¬ 
ligious  perplexities  which,  under  the  pressure  of 
war,  they  are  beginning  to  feel? 

“  If,  then,  it  be  true  that  there  are  many  ears 
open  to  receive  our  voice,  should  we  Catholics  re¬ 
main  apathetic  at  this  critical  moment?  The  op¬ 
portunity  may  never  come  again.  If  we  stand 


Xll 


PREFACE 


aside  from  the  social  movements  of  the  day,  they 
will  go  forward  without  us,  and  our  message  may 
never  be  delivered.  ‘  Civil  society,  no  less  than 
religion,  is  imperiled;  it  is  the  sacred  duty  of 
every  right-minded  man  to  be  up  in  defense  of 
both  the  one  and  the  other.’  ” 

It  is  not  the  writer’s  purpose  to  maintain  that 
correct  Social  principles  cannot  and  do  not  exist 
outside  the  Catholic  Church.  He  well  under¬ 
stands  that  many  of  these  principles  are  “  part  of 
the  natural  law,  written  on  the  conscience  of  man¬ 
kind,  and  ascertainable  and  observable  by  the  light 
of  unaided  reason.”  He  admits  no  less  readily 
that  Catholics  themselves  may  violate  them  in 
practice,  and  often  have  done  so.  Hence  it  is  far 
from  his  wish  to  maintain  that  a  universal  conver¬ 
sion  to  Catholicism  would  of  itself  solve  every 
social  problem. 

His  sole  contention  is  that  a  reasonable  appli¬ 
cation  of  the  teachings  and  approved  traditions 
of  the  Church  to  the  economic  and  social  prob¬ 
lems  of  any  period  will  point  the  right  way  for 
those  willing  to  follow  it.  He  has  therefore 
sought  to  interpret,  as  best  he  could,  the  mind  of 
the  Church  on  practically  all  the  actual  issues  of 
Capital  and  Labor. 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 

CAPITAL,  LABOR,  AND  THE  CHURCH 


CHAPTER  I 


SUPPRESSED  CATHOLICISM  OF  LABOR 


I 


44^~T  seems  to  me,”  wrote  Father  Plater,  “  that 
the  working  classes  of  this  country  are  suf¬ 
fering  from  suppressed  Catholicism.  The 
old  pre-Reformation  instincts  for  freedom  and  se¬ 
curity  have  broken  the  husk  of  an  un-Christian 
economic  theory  and  practice.”  What  is  said  of 
England  is  true  of  the  entire  world.  Suppressed 
Catholicism  is  at  the  heart  of  the  labor  move¬ 
ment.  Suppressed  Catholicism  is  at  the  center  of 
the  great  social  unrest.  Suppressed  Catholicism 
is  the  spirit  struggling  for  liberation  beneath 
the  crackling,  breaking,  bursting  shell  of  an  un¬ 
natural  and  un-Christian  social  order.  It  is  the 
pre-Reformation  spirit  of  social  freedom,  which 
the  Church  can  best  prevent  from  degenerating 
into  lawlessness  or  injustice  once  it  has  achieved 
its  liberation. 


3 


4 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


The  Church  does  not  make  common  cause 
with  Socialism  in  its  opposition  to  private  capi¬ 
tal,  nor  would  the  labor  movement  ever  do  so, 
unless  deceived  or  betrayed  by  false  leaders. 
But  the  Church  is  opposed  in  the  most  unquali¬ 
fied  way  to  the  selfish  spirit  of  rationalistic  capital¬ 
ism  that  sprang  into  being  after  the  Reformation 
and  continued  in  its  development  until  the  great 
world  war.  There  is  no  possible  defense  of  a 
system  which  permitted  the  accmulation  of  moun¬ 
tainous  fortunes  by  a  few  clever  and  often  highly 
unscrupulous  financiers  who  held  in  their  hands 
the  fate  of  millions  of  their  fellow-men,  and  had 
in  their  grasp  the  power  of  the  press  by  which 
they  formed  the  opinions  of  the  very  people  who 
helplessly  looked  to  them  for  their  dole  of  daily 
bread. 

Shortly  after  the  outbreak  of  the  Great  War 
it  was  calculated  that  four  per  cent  of  the  popu¬ 
lation  of  England  held  ninety  per  cent  of  all  the 
wealth.  In  the  United  States,  it  was  claimed, 
sixty  per  cent  of  the  wealth  was  owned  by  two 
per  cent  of  the  people,  while  at  the  other  extreme 
of  the  social  scale  sixty-five  per  cent  of  the  popu¬ 
lation  representing  the  labor  element,  the  main 
factor  in  the  production  of  wealth,  possessed  no 


SUPPRESSED  CATHOLICISM  OF  LABOR  5 

more  than  five  per  cent  of  the  total  riches  of  the 
land.  Need  we  wonder  that  the  Church  calls 
upon  us  all  to  aid  in  bringing  about  a  more  rea¬ 
sonable  and  universal  distribution  of  private  own¬ 
ership  by  means  of  an  equitable  social  legislation? 

Pass  through  the  fashionable  streets  of  New 
York  during  almost  any  month,  from  the  first 
pleasant  days  of  spring  to  the  fall  of  the  last 
leaves  in  autumn,  and  you  will  see  the  blinds  of 
the  houses  closed  and  the  doors  boarded:  no  one 
at  home,  except  perhaps  a  few  servants  in  care 
of  the  forsaken  premises  on  which  a  fortune  was 
expended.  While  some  members  of  these  house¬ 
holds  are  doubtless  engaged  in  providing  for  their 
business  interests,  others  are  mere  parasites  of  so¬ 
ciety,  motoring  through  the  land  in  search  of 
pleasure  and  excitement  or  living  lavishly  in  sea¬ 
side  villas  and  hotels,  surrounded,  it  may  be,  with 
a  retinue  of  servants.  Then  pass  through  the 
congested  streets,  into  which  a  few  steps  will  lead 
you,  and  see  the  poverty,  squalor  and  human  mis¬ 
ery  on  every  hand. 

Such  excess  of  wealth  is  dangerous  for  the  pos¬ 
sessor,  since  we  have  the  Divine  assurance  that  it 
will  be  as  difficult  for  him  to  enter  into  Heaven 
as  for  the  camel  to  pass  through  the  eye  of  the 


6 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


needle.  It  is  possible,  Christ  tells  us;  but  only 
by  the  grace  of  God  and  on  condition  that  all  seri¬ 
ously  inordinate  affection  for  his  wealth  is  cast 
aside  and  that  the  money  be  used  in  the  true  spirit 
of  Christian  stewardship. 

Not  such  is  the  doctrine  of  that  capitalism 
which  sprang  up  after  the  rejection  of  the  Catholic 
religion.  Its  main  tenet  was  that  each  man  might 
use  his  wealth  as  he  pleased  and  its  main  purpose 
was  to  accumulate  still  greater  riches  and  to  ac¬ 
quire  more  exclusive  control  of  the  gigantic  mod¬ 
ern  industries  and  commercial  enterprises. 

Such  excess  of  wealth  is  equally  dangerous  for 
the  poor  who  behold  the  toppling  fortunes  of  the 
rich  growing  ever  more  portentous  and  eye 
askance  the  idle  lives  of  so  many  of  our  dames 
of  wealth,  whose  sole  concept  of  their  purpose  in 
life  appears  to  be  little  more  than  personal  com¬ 
fort  and  social  pleasure.  No  matter  that  the 
workers  themselves  may  be  drawing  larger  wages, 
they  see  the  stupendous  contrast  between  them¬ 
selves  and  so  many  of  the  selfish  or  idle  rich,  whose 
wealth  in  countless  instances  has  been  accumu¬ 
lated  by  methods  socially  and  religiously  unsound 
and  unjustifiable. 

The  Church  does  not,  like  Socialism,  cultivate 


SUPPRESSED  CATHOLICISM  OF  LABOR  7 

that  constantly  growing  spirit  of  enmity,  jealousy 
and  hatred  which  threatens  to  submerge  the  en¬ 
tire  world  in  the  tremendous  cataclysm  of  univer¬ 
sal  social  revolution.  It  is  not  in  these  passions 
that  the  suppressed  Catholicism  consists,  which  is 
at  the  heart  of  the  labor  movement.  They  are 
only  the  excesses  to  which  the  movement  itself  will 
doubtless  lead  if  not  controlled  by  the  principles 
of  Christianity  as  interpreted  by  the  one  Church 
which  Christ  has  founded.  She  alone  comes  down 
from  Him  through  all  the  centuries  to  bring  His 
message  to  the  laborer  of  our  day.  At  the  pres¬ 
ent  moment  of  social  reconstruction  it  is  more 
important  than  ever  before  that  this  message  be 
placed  before  the  world  in  all  its  strength  and 
clearness.  Capital  and  labor  alike  must  heed  it 
if  they  would  avert  the  threatened  catastrophe. 

The  assumption  is  not  made  by  the  Church,  nor 
does  labor  itself  make  it,  that  all  employers  and 
capitalists  are  in  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  selfish, 
post-Reformation  capitalism  which  the  Church 
condemns  in  words  as  severe  as  any  that  have  yet 
been  spoken,  though  they  are  uttered  by  her  in  a 
spirit  of  Christian  restraint  and  charity.  Sincere 
Christian  employers  and  capitalists  are  them¬ 
selves  eager  to  be  freed  from  a  system  which  they 


8 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


know  to  be  false  and  unacceptable,  but  with  which 
they  are  obliged  to  compete  if  they  would  not  be 
submerged  in  the  stream  against  which  they  are 
struggling.  They,  too,  are  suffering  from  that 
suppressed  Catholicism  which  is  at  the  heart  of 
the  masses  who  have  not  as  yet  been  totally  per¬ 
verted  by  a  hopeless  atheistic  radicalism. 

The  Church  does  not  join  in  the  Socialistic  hue 
and  cry  against  private  capital  in  itself.  The 
Church  strictly  condemns  the  Socialist  doctrine  of 
an  essential  class  struggle  between  capital  and 
labor,  but  insists  upon  the  possibility  as  well  as 
the  duty  of  a  friendly  cooperation.  In  the  last 
of  his  regulations  on  Christian  Democracy,  Pope 
Pius  X  particularly  admonishes  Catholic  writers 
that,  in  taking  up  the  cause  of  the  poorer  classes, 
they  may  not  use  language  that  might  arouse  hos¬ 
tility  in  the  heart  of  the  people,  nor  speak  of 
claims  of  justice  where  there  is  question  of  the 
obligations  of  charity:  “Let  them  remember 
that  Jesus  Christ  desires  to  unite  all  men  in  the 
bond  of  mutual  charity,  which  is  the  perfection  of 
justice  and  binds  us  all  to  strive  for  the  good 
of  one  another”  ( Christian  Popular  Action). 
There  is  no  need  of  a  class  war.  All  that  is  re¬ 
quired  is  social  legislation  along  Catholic  lines, 


SUPPRESSED  CATHOLICISM  OF  LABOR  9 

which  will  secure  the  welfare,  not  of  a  favored 
few,  but  of  the  entire  community.  Such,  too,  is 
the  sentiment  of  the  more  reasonable  labor  ele¬ 
ment. 

It  is  an  entirely  false  notion  that  the  enormous 
fortunes  of  our  day  are  an  economic  necessity,  and 
that  social  legislation  which  would  curb  them  in 
future  and  give  as  many  as  possible  a  share  in 
productive  ownership  is  detrimental  to  the  large 
scale  industries  required  in  our  time.  It  is  now 
commonly  admitted,  in  the  first  place,  that  such 
enterprises  can  readily  reach  a  stage  of  develop¬ 
ment  when,  because  of  their  vastness,  they  cease 
to  be  economic,  and  when  smaller  competitive 
enterprises  would  be  more  productive  and  less 
wasteful. 

Moreover  it  is  not  impossible  to  conduct  ex¬ 
tensive  undertakings,  and  at  the  same  time  im¬ 
pose  such  conditions  that  the  greatest  number  can 
share  in  the  ownership  and  control  of  the  indus¬ 
try.  The  wrongful  manipulation  of  stocks  and  all 
similar  methods  must  be  abolished.  By  such  cun¬ 
ning  and  selfish  devices  a  few  have  been  able  to 
skim  the  cream  of  the  entire  wealth  produced  so 
as  to  leave  merely  the  bluish  remnant  to  be  di¬ 
vided  among  the  uninitiated  holders  of  shares, 


10 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


who  were  deceived  in  common  with  the  general 
public. 

However  radical  labor  may  seek  to  pervert  the 
popular  mind,  and  however  organized  labor  may 
at  times  fall  under  the  spell  of  radical  principles 
and  allow  itself  to  be  deceived  into  accepting 
them,  yet  the  great  demand  at  the  heart  of  honest 
labor  is  that  all  privilege  should  be  swept  away, 
which  leads  to  abuse  and  to  inordinate  profits, 
and  that  the  common  welfare  should  be  consulted 
in  all  things.  Here  is  precisely  what  we  under¬ 
stand  by  the  suppressed  Catholicism  of  labor. 
It  is  this  which  the  Church  likewise  demands  with 
the  utmost  insistence. 

In  the  days  of  the  Catholic  gilds  large  for¬ 
tunes  by  industrial  profits  were  rendered  impos¬ 
sible  by  the  restrictions  placed  upon  employers, 
in  regard  to  the  purchase  of  the  raw  material, 
the  number  of  journeymen  and  apprentices  they 
might  engage  in  their  workshops  and  so  on. 
The  object  was  to  prevent  any  single  man  or 
group  of  men  from  controlling  the  labor  market 
or  monopolizing  a  local  trade.  Every  man  was 
enabled  to  gain  an  honest  livelihood,  and  no  man 
was  permitted  to  grow  enormously  rich  through 
the  labor  of  others.  No  man  might  ply  two 


SUPPRESSED  CATHOLICISM  OF  LABOR 


1 1 


trades.  Times  have  changed,  but  there  is  no 
reason  why  the  underlying  principles  cannot  be 
applied  again  through  legislation  that  is  adapted 
to  our  own  economic  era. 

It  is  suppressed  Catholicism,  the  newly  awak¬ 
ened  spirit  of  pre-Reformation  Christianity,  and 
not  Socialism  that  is  at  the  heart  of  the  laboring 
man.  The  Catholic  principles  of  the  widest  dif¬ 
fusion  of  ownership  would  be  gladly  accepted  by 
him  rather  than  the  Socialist  ideal  of  the  destruc¬ 
tion  of  all  economic  freedom  and  the  impossi¬ 
bility  of  ever  acquiring  a  personal  title  to  pro¬ 
ductive  ownership  —  an  ideal  which  Socialists 
have  been  constrained  to  modify.  He  has  seen 
enough  of  political  chicanery  and  should  have 
learned  to  pause  before  entrusting  his  whole  fu¬ 
ture  fate  and  fortune  to  the  tyranny  of  Socialist 
politicians  in  power.  Yet  the  danger  of  Social¬ 
ism  lies  not  in  its  positive  constructive  program, 
but  in  the  fact  that  it  appeals  to  the  laborer  as  the 
one  political  party  specially  designed  for  him  and 
for  his  interests,  the  only  party  that  is  wholly  de¬ 
voted  to  him  alone.  Under  such  specious  pre¬ 
texts  the  Socialist  canvasser  may  gain  the  laborer’s 
vote. 

The  lesson  is  obvious.  Catholics  must  clearly 


12 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


and  succinctly  propose  their  own  principles,  which 
labor  will  not  fail  to  welcome.  Capital,  too, 
which  is  not  consumed  with  the  one  purpose  of 
enriching  itself  at  the  expense  of  workmen,  will 
understand  the  Christian  spirit  of  our  program. 
As  for  the  radicals  of  labor  and  of  capital  alike, 
we  can  hope  nothing  from  them  but  war  to  the 
bitter  end.  We  shall  have  with  us  the  great  body 
of  the  workers  in  our  honest  fight  against  these 
vultures  of  society  with  whom  we  can  make  no 
truce  and  from  whom  we  expect  no  concessions. 

Finally  it  is  true  that  false  notions  upon  many 
vital  questions  have  taken  possession  of  the  popu¬ 
lar  mind.  Here  is  the  supreme  difficulty  we  are 
facing  in  our  work  of  social  reconstruction.  If 
all  the  world  were  Catholic  we  could  appeal  to  it 
in  a  language  intelligible  to  all.  As  things  now 
are  there  is  no  power  to  restrain  the  passions  of 
men  or  to  overrule  their  prejudices.  There  can 
be  no  greater  social  work  than  that  which  con¬ 
sists  in  bringing  men  back  once  more  into  the  one 
true  Fold. 


CHAPTER  II 


OUR  SOCIAL  AND  ECONOMIC 
■  PROBLEMS 

BRIEFLY  to  summarize  the  varied  and  per¬ 
plexing  problems  of  our  modern  life  is  no 
slight  task.  Volumes  would  not  suffice  to 
deal  with  them  exhaustively.  Libraries  have  been 
written  upon  them  without  attaining  to  a  final 
solution.  Yet  it  will  not  be  impossible  to  offer 
at  least  a  general  view  of  the  social  and  economic 
field,  and  to  present  in  a  comprehensive  panorama 
the  manifold  issues  which  today  are  so  mightily 
whirling  up  the  dust  upon  our  little  planet. 

We  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  picture  here 
given  is  not  typical  of  the  entire  social  order.  Its 
sole  aim  is  to  acquaint  the  reader  with  the  exist¬ 
ing  difficulties  and  with  the  prevalent  abuses  that 
call  for  a  remedy.  Hence  we  speak  of  them  as 
“  problems.”  To  confine  ourselves  exclusively  to 
a  portrayal  of  these  extreme  evils  in  our  indus¬ 
trial  conditions,  and  thence  to  generalize,  as  is  too 


13 


14 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


often  done,  would  be  no  less  unjust  than  revolu¬ 
tionary.  There  is  no  reason  for  despair,  but 
there  is  every  reason  for  strong  and  earnest  Chris¬ 
tian  endeavor  to  bring  about  the  establishment  of 
a  true  Christian  order  of  society.  For  this  pur¬ 
pose  we  must  squarely  face  the  existing  vices  and 
abuses  without  permitting  ourselves  to  fall  into 
Socialistic  exaggeration.  So  only  shall  we  be  able 
to  cooperate  intelligently  and  zealously  for  the 
common  welfare. 

The  picture  given  is  not  that  of  the  world  of 
industry  in  the  throes  of  war,  when  employment 
is  plentiful  and  laborers  are  few,  but  of  the  eco¬ 
nomic  and  social  problems  as  they  arise  in  the 
days  of  peace.  For  war-time  conditions  abnor¬ 
mal  legislation  is  required;  and  the  spirit  of 
patriotism  is  stronger  than  any  sanction  that  law 
can  enact.  But  far  more  difficult  is  the  work  of 
social  reform  when  the  sword  is  again  turned  into 
the  plowshare  and  the  cannons  are  forged  into 
anvil  and  hammer. 

Many  and  complex  are  the  forms  assumed  by 
the  great  social  question.  We  meet  with  it,  in  the 
first  place,  upon  the  land  wherever  the  railway 
or  the  middleman  absorb  the  profit  of  the  small 
farmer;  wherever  through  the  iniquitous  extor- 


SOCIAL  AND  ECONOMIC  PROBLEMS  1 5 

tion  practised  upon  him  his  fruits  are  left  to  rot 
in  the  fields,  and  his  cattle  are  excluded  from  the 
market,  while  in  the  large  cities  men  are  starving; 
wherever,  in  fine,  changed  conditions  call  for  new 
adjustments  or  cooperation,  and  where  the  land  is 
left  untilled  while  towns  are  overcrowded  with 
laborers;  this  we  call  the  “  Agrarian  Problem.” 

We  meet  with  it  next  in  the  industrial  world, 
wherever  labor  is  exploited  by  the  wealthy  em¬ 
ployer,  and  its  service  is  procured  at  the  lowest 
wages,  for  the  longest  hours  and  amid  the  hard¬ 
est  conditions  which  competition  and  unemploy¬ 
ment  can  force  the  toiler  to  accept.  Or  else  the 
tables  are  turned,  and  labor,  through  the  radical 
influences  exerted  upon  it,  becomes  equally  unrea¬ 
sonable  in  its  demands.  This  we  call  the  “  Labor 
Problem.” 

We  face  it,  again,  in  the  large  number  of  willing 
and  able-bodied  men  who,  from  time  to  time,  may 
be  observed  wandering  about  through  the  city 
streets  with  hopeless  looks  and  sinking  hearts  in 
search  for  work  where  none  is  to  be  found. 
Everywhere  the  tragic  sign,  “  No  Help  Needed!  ” 
To  those  who  have  eyes  to  see  and  hearts  to  feel 
it  tells  the  tale  of  many  a  heart-breaking  scene  of 
despondency  and  perhaps  of  despair,  of  bare 


1 6  the  world  problem 

homes  and  weeping  women  and  children  clamor¬ 
ing  for  bread.  This  we  call  the  “  Problem  of  the 
Unemployed.” 

We  have  had  it  daily  thrust  upon  our  notice 
in  the  strikes  and  lockouts ;  the  sabotage,  violence 
and  labor  litigations;  the  unfair  advantages  at 
times  taken  by  labor,  as  well  as  by  capital,  ac¬ 
cordingly  as  the  scale  inclined  one  way  or  an¬ 
other.  Socialists  call  this  the  “  Class  Struggle.” 
They  claim  it  is  essential  to  our  present  order. 
But  we  know  that  it  is  not  ultimately  the  outcome 
of  economic  conditions.  It  is  the  result  of  mod¬ 
ern  irreligion  in  which  the  social  evils  that  afflict 
us  have  bred  like  maggots  in  a  decaying  body. 
The  theories  of  Socialism  carried  into  effect  would 
leave  society  in  an  even  worse  state  than  before. 

We  see  it  staring  at  us  in  the  congested,  squalid, 
malodorous  quarters  where  the  poorest  of  the 
poor  are  hoveled,  happy  that  unlike  so  many 
others  they  have  at  least  a  “  home.”  We  see  it 
in  the  dingy  tenement  and  cabin,  where  at  times 
an  entire  family  possesses  only  a  single  room, 
where  human  beings  live  in  stifling  apartments 
that  have  not  even  a  window  looking  out  upon 
God’s  free  heaven,  but  only  doors  that  open  into 
still  other  apartments.  This  we  call  the  “  Hous- 


SOCIAL  AND  ECONOMIC  PROBLEMS  17 

ing  Problem.”  Greater  perhaps  than  we  may 
have  ever  imagined  for  ourselves  is  the  army  of 
those  whose  whole  existence  is  described  in  the 
modern  poet’s  words : 

All  life  moving  to  one  measure  — 

Daily  bread,  daily  bread  — 

Bread  of  life,  and  bread  of  labor, 

Bread  of  bitterness  and  sorrow, 

Hand-to-mouth  and  no  tomorrow, 

Dearth  for  house-mate,  dearth  for  neighbor, 

Yet  when  all  the  babes  are  fed, 

Love,  are  there  no  crumbs  to  treasure? 

How  appalling  in  size  this  army  still  remains 
in  normal  times,  in  spite  of  great  improvement 
in  labor  conditions,  becomes  apparent  with  almost 
every  strike.  Frequently,  no  doubt,  the  reason 
for  these  untoward  conditions  is  to  be  found  in 
the  absence  of  thrift  on  the  part  of  the  laborer 
and  in  unnecessary  spending  above  his  daily  in¬ 
come.  Here  again  we  are  only  face  to  face  with 
another  problem  of  our  times.  But  genuine  pov¬ 
erty  is  plentiful  enough,  and  with  this  too  often 
is  combined  the  absence  of  that  religion  which 
might  remove  so  much  bitterness  and  make  pov¬ 
erty  itself  meritorious  for  heaven  while  giving 
men  courage  to  struggle  for  better  conditions. 
Who,  moreover,  can  tell  the  story  of  the  poor 


I  8  THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 

girls  and  women  who  too  often  in  the  past  have 
barely  been  able  to  sustain  life  upon  their  paltry 
earnings,  yet  have  striven  perhaps  to  support  with 
it  a  little  sister  or  brother,  a  mother  or  a  bed¬ 
ridden  father.  We  are  here  in  close  touch  with 
the  most  trying  phase  of  the  “  Problem  of  the 
High  Cost  of  Living.” 

Side  by  side  with  this  must  be  placed  that  fore¬ 
most  problem  of  our  day,  called  into  being  by 
our  modern  paganism  and  its  inordinate  desire 
for  luxury  and  pleasure.  We  refer  to  the  sense¬ 
less  extravagance  practised  on  the  part  of  labor 
as  well  as  of  wealth,  which  is  fittingly  designated, 
in  contrast  with  the  former,  as  the  “  Problem  of 
the  Cost  of  High  Living.”  Men  and  women  are 
not  content  with  living  according  to  their  state  of 
life  and  within  the  limits  of  their  income,  even 
when  adequate  and  generous,  but  extravagant  ex¬ 
penses  are  looked  upon  as  a  necessity.  Thrift  is 
scorned.  Socialism  seeks  for  its  own  ends  to  pro¬ 
mote  this  spirit  to  the  utmost  among  the  labor 
population,  in  order  to  foment  discontent  and  feed 
the  fires  of  revolution. 

There  is  no  need  of  describing  in  detail  the  prob¬ 
lem  of  the  unnecessary  Sunday  labor,  carried  on 
in  many  of  our  industries;  the  seven-day  labor 


SOCIAL  AND  ECONOMIC  PROBLEMS  1 9 

where  shifts  of  men  could  readily  be  used;  the 
long  hours  which  often  through  sheer  fatigue  end 
in  industrial  accidents;  and  the  dreadful  occupa¬ 
tional  diseases  which  could  be  lessened  or  avoided 
at  the  cost  of  a  little  reduction  of  unholy  divi¬ 
dends.  Above  all  there  are  the  child  and  woman 
problems  in  the  industry  of  our  day,  with  their 
endless  complications  and  the  frequent  abuses  they 
suggest;  and  lastly,  to  proceed  no  further,  there 
remains  the  all-important  problem  of  social  legis¬ 
lation.  The  abuses  in  our  system  of  trusts  and 
the  abominations  of  selfish  monopolies  will  fall 
under  this  last  heading. 

Another  menace  of  our  times,  both  of  a  social 
and  economic  nature,  are  the  lives  of  the  idle  rich 
who  are  wasting  their  existence  in  a  round  of 
vapid  pleasures  and  vulgar  display,  expending  on 
their  pampered  lapdogs  and  even  more  unworthy 
objects  the  time  that  should  be  devoted  to  charity, 
prayer  and  good  works.  They  are  rotting  in  lux¬ 
ury  and  ease,  while  poor  starved  creatures  in  dark 
attics  are  perhaps  working  at  the  finery  that  is  to 
deck  their  sinful  bodies.  They  too  are  feeding 
the  fires  of  revolution  in  the  hearts  of  the  masses, 
and  are  heaping  up  for  themselves  a  fearful  retri¬ 
bution  in  proportion  to  the  opportunities  which 


20 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


were  given  them  for  aiding  their  neighbor.  Ter¬ 
rible  is  the  warning  of  our  Divine  Lord : 


Then  shall  He  say  to  them  also  that  shall  be  on  His  left 
hand:  Depart  from  Me  you  cursed,  into  everlasting  fire  which 
was  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his  angels.  For  I  was  hungry, 
and  you  gave  Me  not  to  eat;  I  was  thirsty,  and  you  gave  Me 
not  to  drink.  I  was  a  stranger  and  you  took  Me  not  in;  naked, 
and  you  covered  Me  not;  sick  and  in  prison,  and  you  did  not 
visit  Me.  .  .  .  Amen  I  say  to  you,  as  long  as  you  did  it  not  to  one 
of  these  least,  neither  did  you  do  it  to  Me.  ( Matth .  xxv,  41 
sqq.) 

There  are  in  fine  the  many  economic  phases  of 
the  great  woman  problem.  Some  of  these  are 
intimately  connected  with  the  evils  already  enu¬ 
merated.  Others  are  due  to  a  false  idea  of  equal¬ 
ity  and  independence.  If  woman  sets  aside  her 
modesty,  as  many  openly  advocate;  if  woman  loses 
her  domestic  affection,  her  religious  instincts  and 
devotion,  her  womanliness;  if  she  no  longer  recog¬ 
nizes  her  true  ideal  in  the  Mother  of  God,  whose 
soul  was  wrapped  in  her  Child  and  Saviour,  and 
whose  heart  was  obedient  to  Joseph  her  husband, 
then  paganism  has  returned  and  the  deluge  is  upon 
us.  We  may  mention  here  in  passing,  though  not 
directly  connected  with  the  subject  of  this  volume, 
the  problem  of  vice  and  the  abominations  of  the 
sex  questions  into  which  modern  rationalism  has 
plunged  the  world.  And,  not  the  least  subversive 


SOCIAL  AND  ECONOMIC  PROBLEMS 


21 


to  morality,  religion,  and  the  common  welfare, 
there  is  the  problem  of  the  social  “  uplifter,”  the 
pest  of  our  present-day  civilization,  who  would  re¬ 
form  the  world  without  God. 

We  have  pictured  exclusively  the  dark  side  of 
existing  conditions.  It  would  be  pessimistic,  as 
we  have  stated  in  the  beginning,  to  hint  that  such 
is  the  entire  existing  order. 

In  the  labor  world  particularly,  with  which  we 
are  concerned  in  the  present  volume,  a  decided 
improvement  has  doubtless  taken  place  in  regard 
to  remuneration  and  working  conditions.  Bal¬ 
ancing  the  increase  in  prices  during  normal  pe¬ 
riods  with  the  increase  of  wages,  we  can  readily 
admit  that  the  position  of  the  workingman  today 
is  better  than  was  that  of  his  predecessor.  Many 
even  of  the  most  radical  writers  have  rejected  the 
Marxian  theory  of  an  absolute  deterioration  in 
the  conditions  of  labor  and  content  themselves 
with  proclaiming  and  defending  only  a  relative 
deterioration.  They  admit  that  the  remuneration 
received  by  the  workingman  has  indeed  increased, 
but  see  in  this  no  reason  for  satisfaction,  since  the 
profits  of  the  capitalist,  they  argue,  have  aug¬ 
mented  still  more.  The  earnings  of  the  laborer, 
they  hold,  have  not  kept  pace  with  the  gains  of 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


'2  2 

the  employer.  Both  classes  have  bettered  their 
condition,  but  the  progress  of  capital  has  been 
greater  than  that  of  the  working  classes.  This 
statement  is  made  the  starting  point  for  new  social 
agitation.  The  sins  of  the  modem  profiteer,  that 
cry  to  heaven,  are  as  oil  cast  into  the  flame  of  a 
mighty  discontent. 

That  profits  have  often  been  utterly  unreason¬ 
able  and  unjust  no  one  can  deny.  Small  competi¬ 
tors  have  been  deliberately  pushed  to  the  wall  in 
order  that  large  enterprises  might  arbitrarily  dic¬ 
tate  their  excessive  prices.  Pools,  trusts  and  mo¬ 
nopolies  have  not  been  the  only  offenders.  Big 
business,  even  under  open  competition,  has  often 
successfully  created  and  maintained  exaggerated 
prices. 

Labor,  moreover,  has  had  many  just  grievances 
in  industries  where  conditions  were  far  from  ideal 
and  wages  often  pitifully  low.  Capital  on  the 
other  hand  is  often  making  honest  efforts,  not  only 
to  do  justice  towards  its  employees,  but  to  deal 
with  them  in  a  Christian  way.  Men  of  high  char¬ 
acter  are  plentiful  on  both  sides.  Too  frequently, 
however,  they  have  not  the  safe  guidance  of  the 
true  Faith  to  point  out  to  them  the  principles  they 
should  follow,  or  they  have  been  borne  along 


SOCIAL  AND  ECONOMIC  PROBLEMS  23 

blindly  upon  the  current  of  the  times.  It  is  im¬ 
possible  to  conceive  rightly  of  the  great  question 
of  wages  and  profits  without  keeping  in  sight  the 
end  for  which  man  was  created.  With  this  lost 
to  view,  there  is  no  hope  of  any  final  solution  of 
our  social  problems. 

Could  wages  and  profits  themselves  be  abol¬ 
ished  for  a  short  space  the  ancient  evil  would  still 
return  under  other  forms.  It  is  old  as  the  serpent 
in  Paradise.  It  is  seated  deep  in  the  unregener¬ 
ated  heart  of  man.  For  this  reason  Christ  was 
born  in  a  stable  and  cradled  in  a  manger  that  men 
might  know  that  there  are  higher  things  and 
nobler  aims  than  gain  and  pleasure.  So  the  rich 
should  learn  to  be  liberal  and  humble  and  the 
poor  to  refrain  from  envy.  From  the  Crib  of 
Bethlehem  streams  the  light  in  which  alone  can  be 
rightly  judged  the  great  economic  issues  of  the 
day. 


CHAPTER  III 


THE  SUBSTANCE  OF  SOCIALISM 

FREQUENT  reference  is  made  to  Socialism 
in  the  present  volume.  That  objection 
may  not  be  taken  to  the  views  expressed 
upon  this  subject,  it  is  important  to  state  that  there 
is  question  throughout  of  orthodox  Socialism,  pure 
and  undiluted.  The  reason  for  this  will  at  once 
become  apparent. 

The  economic  doctrine  of  Socialism  is  all  cen¬ 
tralized  in  the  common  Socialist  ownership  of  the 
means  of  production  and  distribution.  Such  own¬ 
ership  may  evidently  be  more  or  less  complete. 
Hence  the  various  forms  of  Socialism,  on  its  eco¬ 
nomic  side,  may  vary  endlessly  according  to  the 
proposed  degree  of  this  Socialist  ownership.  To 
the  same  degree,  also,  will  the  general  criticism 
of  Socialism  apply  to  any  particular  form  of  it. 

Socialism,  in  its  complete  acceptance,  postulates 
in  the  first  place  the  absolute  public  ownership  of 
the  land.  Small  farmers  may  be  permitted  to  cul- 


24 


THE  SUBSTANCE  OF  SOCIALISM 


25 


tivate  their  former  holdings,  but  on  the  under¬ 
standing  that  the  absolute  ownership  is  not  vested 
in  them,  but  in  the  Socialist  commonwealth.  Such 
was  the  doctrine  expressly  included  in  a  former 
plank  of  the  American  Socialist  platform.  As  re¬ 
gards  all  other  means  of  production  and  distribu¬ 
tion,  classical  Socialism  in  general  permitted  the 
private  ownership  of  such  means  only  as  are  pri¬ 
vately  used.  Where  a  larger  freedom  was  ex¬ 
tended  the  limits  were  to  be  strictly  drawn  as  soon 
as  any  private  ownership  implied  the  use  of  wage- 
labor.  Together  with  the  destruction  of  the 
wage-system,  orthodox  Socialism  proposed  the 
complete  abolition  of  all  profit,  rent  and  interest. 

This  may  be  taken  as  a  moderate  statement  of 
the  doctrine  of  genuine  Socialism,  as  it  can  be  gath¬ 
ered  from  the  literature  promulgated  by  the  So¬ 
cialist  parties  throughout  the  world.  Proceeding 
from  this  as  the  central  starting  point  we  meet 
with  every  possible  variety  of  view,  accordingly  as 
each  individual  Socialist  proposes  for  his  ideal  a 
more  or  less  complete  “  socialization  ”  of  the 
means  of  production  and  distribution,  until  we 
arrive  at  the  very  periphery  of  Socialism  in  the 
doctrine  which  contents  itself  with  “  Applying  pub¬ 
lic  ownership  and  democratic  direction  only  to 


2  6 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


those  things  which  are  essentially  collectivistic  in 
their  nature.”  A  little  straining  of  this  definition 
and  we  fly  loose  from  Socialism  altogether. 

This  very  vagueness  has  greatly  helped  in  the 
political  promotion  of  Socialism.  The  points 
most  earnestly  insisted  upon  by  party  politicians 
and  in  party  platforms  were  often  those  least  con¬ 
nected  with  Socialism.  Men,  merely  incensed  at 
the  abuses  existing  under  the  capitalistic  system 
and  eager  to  establish  a  more  equitable  distribu¬ 
tion  of  ownership  and  a  sounder  social  legislation, 
which  would  make  impossible  the  exploitation  of 
unskilled  labor  and  the  open  robbery  of  the  long- 
suffering  public  by  a  few  unconscionable  capital¬ 
ists,  straightway  imagined  themselves  to  be  Social¬ 
ists.  It  was  in  reality  the  fire  of  Catholicism  that 
was  burning  at  their  heart,  and  they  mistook  it  for 
Socialism.  Faith  alone  was  wanting. 

Even  the  extension  of  Government  ownership 
to  public  service  utilities  and  to  certain  natural  or 
“  artificial  ”  monopolies  is  spoken  of  as  “  State 
Socialism,”  although  within  proper  limits  and  un¬ 
der  reasonable  conditions,  when  such  measures  are 
demanded  by  the  common  good,  it  may  fully  meet 
with  all  the  requirements  of  Christian  Democracy 
as  championed  by  the  Church.  Orthodox  Social- 


THE  SUBSTANCE  OF  SOCIALISM  27 

ists  admit  no  such  confusion  of  ideas:  u  Let  us 
clear  things  up,”  says  the  New  York  Call,  “  by 
stating  that  we  know  ‘  State  Socialism  ’  is  not  So¬ 
cialism.”  (Jan.  5,  1918.)  But  they  regard  it 
as  a  stepping  stone  in  the  way  that  leads  to  Social¬ 
ism  and  quote  to  this  effect  the  words  of  Engels, 
who  with  Marx  is  the  common  founder  of  modern 
Socialism : 

Whilst  the  capitalist  mode  of  production  more  and  more 
completely  transforms  the  great  majority  of  the  population  into 
proletarians,  it  creates  the  power  which,  under  penalty  of  its 
own  destruction,  is  forced  to  accomplish  this  revolution. 
Whilst  it  necessitates  more  and  more  the  transformation  of  the 
vast  means  of  production,  already  socialized,  into  State  prop¬ 
erty,  it  shows  itself  the  way  to  accomplish  this  revolution.  The 
proletariat  seizes  political  power  and  turns  the  means  of  pro¬ 
duction  into  State  property. 

That  is,  into  Socialist  State  property.  For  there 
is  then  to  be  neither  class  nor  State,  according 
to  Engels  and  the  Call,  but  only  Socialism.  On 
definite  details  no  Socialists  can  agree. 

Thus  the  “  modern  State  ”  will  be  abolished 
and  give  way  to  Socialism  in  the  opinion  of  or¬ 
thodox  Socialists,  and  the  first  step  towards  this 
is  considered  to  be  the  State  ownership  of  the  pro¬ 
ductive  forces.  The  statement  is  true  in  so  far  as 
it  points  out  the  danger  of  the  modern  tendency 
towards  public  ownership  when  unregulated  by 


28 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


Christian  motives  and  principles.  The  results, 
under  such  conditions,  can  fruitfully  be  studied  in 
all  instances  where  genuine  Socialism  achieved  a 
temporary  supremacy.  A  real  state  of  Social¬ 
ism  would  be  as  durable  as  a  utopia  built  in  the 
clouds. 

The  attitude  of  the  Church  towards  property  is 
one  of  impartial  justice.  She  defends  the  posses¬ 
sion  of  private  productive  property,  but  only  to  the 
extent  that  it  does  not  interfere  with  the  common 
good.  The  attitude  of  Socialism  is  the  very  op¬ 
posite.  It  will  merely  tolerate  such  possession  to 
the  extent  that  it  does  not  interfere  with  its  own 
ideal  of  public  ownership.  It  will  obviously  not 
be  possible  nor  necessary  to  take  into  considera¬ 
tion  every  variety  of  Socialist  opinion.  But  the 
strictures  passed  upon  orthodox  Socialism,  as  we 
have  said,  will  hold  true  to  a  greater  or  less  ex¬ 
tent  of  every  form  of  Socialism,  accordingly  as  it 
more  or  less  closely  approximates  to  the  genuine 
Socialist  ideal,  which  would  simply  make  “  land 
and  capital  ”  the  common  possession  of  the  Social- 
istically  controlled  community. 

The  greatest  danger  of  Socialism  lies  in  its  ma¬ 
terialistic  philosophy.  This,  we  are  repeatedly 
told  by  its  political  advocates,  is  non-essential. 


THE  SUBSTANCE  OF  SOCIALISM 


29 


The  truth,  however,  is  that  the  literature  of  Social¬ 
ism,  both  its  “  classics  ”  and  its  current  journalism, 
is  hopelessly  permeated  with  a  spirit  of  intolerant 
rationalism  and  materialism.  The  hostility  of 
Socialism  towards  the  Church  of  Christ  in  every 
country  of  the  earth  is  a  matter  of  history.  The 
Socialist  press  of  today  is  no  less  filled  with  venom 
and  animosity  than  in  any  period  of  the  past.  All 
the  social  vices  of  the  day,  from  laxity  of  the  mar¬ 
riage  bond  to  birth  control,  find  there  an  open 
forum.  Modern  civilization  is  far  more  imper¬ 
iled  by  the  philosophy  of  Socialism  than  by  all  its 
economic  errors. 

The  attitude  of  the  Church  towards  Socialists 
themselves,  at  least  those  who  have  been  misled 
to  follow  its  will-o’-the-wisp,  is  one  of  sorrow  and 
not  of  anger.  The  situation  was  analyzed  with 
admirable  skill  in  the  Pastoral  Address  of  the 
Archbishops  and  Bishops  of  Ireland,  assembled  in 
special  meeting  at  Maynooth,  February  11,  1914, 
when  they  thus  explained  the  motives  that 
too  often  led  men  into  a  mistaken  acceptance  of 
Socialism : 

The  desire  of  ownership  which,  within  due  bounds,  is  natural 
and  legitimate  in  man  and  may  be  highly  commendable,  springs 
from  the  laudable  purpose  of  providing  a  stable  way  for  him¬ 
self  and  those  depending  upon  him.  The  real,  explanation  why 


30 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


multitudes  of  men,  otherwise  as  good  as  their  neighbors,  have 
swelled  the  ranks  of  Socialism  seems  to  be,  not  that  they  hated 
private  property  on  principle,  but  that  by  nature  and  in  fact 
they  loved  to  have  it,  and  saw  no  avenue  leading  to  participa¬ 
tion  in  it  except  the  fantastic  way  that  opens  on  the  dismal 
swamp  where  there  is  to  be  State  ownership  of  the  instruments 
of  production  and  distribution,  and  State  intrusion  everywhere. 

It  is,  indeed,  the  duty  of  the  State  to  see  that  the  natural 
resources  are  turned  to  good  account  for  the  support  and  wel¬ 
fare  of  all  the  people;  and,  consequently,  the  State  or  munici¬ 
pality  should  acquire,  always  for  compensation,  those  agencies 
of  production,  and  those  agencies  only,  in  which  the  public 
interest  demands  that  public  property  rather  than  private 
ownership  should  exist. 

Here  then  is  the  Catholic  point  of  view  both  of 
Socialism  and  of  that  State  ownership,  of  which 
we  shall  have  more  to  say  in  future  chapters. 
Voluntary  communism  of  any  kind,  which  does  not 
wish  to  impose  its  methods  upon  others,  is  quite 
another  matter. 

It  is  far  more  important,  we  are  tempted  to  say, 
to  make  clear  what  is  not  Socialism  than  to  define 
Socialism  itself.  “  Every  Socialist  propagandist,” 
says  Spargo,  “  has  had  the  experience  of  advocat¬ 
ing  the  Socialist  program  without  using  the  label, 
and  finding  his  auditors  in  agreement  so  long  as 
the  label  was  not  applied,  while  the  moment  the 
word  ‘  Socialism  ’  was  attached  the  very  persons 
who  had  approved  the  program  were  shocked  into 
solemn  opposition.”  There  is  good  reason  for 


THE  SUBSTANCE  OF  SOCIALISM  3 1 

such  an  attitude.  The  measures  proposed  were 
in  every  probability,  aside  from  Socialist  exagger¬ 
ations,  as  remote  from  Socialism  as  the  Church 
itself.  The  ulterior  purpose  was  probably  not 
disclosed  until  the  word  itself  was  used. 

The  essentially  Catholic  social  reforms,  though 
generally  proposed  in  a  distorted  way  and  with 
the  spirit  of  class  antagonism,  are  the  main  at¬ 
tractions  Socialist  politicians  use.  They  are  a 
simple  application  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Church 
which  were  put  into  practice  in  the  best  days  of 
the  Catholic  gilds  and  which  are  no  less  strongly 
proclaimed  in  our  day.  “  Most  of  what  Socialists 
aim  at,”  Kropotkin  honestly  confesses,  “  existed 
in  the  medieval  city.”  All  that  is  profoundly  true 
in  the  doctrine  of  human  brotherhood;  in  the  theo¬ 
ries  of  cooperation,  public  ownership  or  control;  in 
the  opposition  to  every  form  of  exploitation  and 
oppression;  in  the  desire  for  a  wider  and  more 
real  liberty  and  self-development,  and  the  deter¬ 
mination  to  sweep  from  the  face  of  the  earth  for¬ 
ever  the  spirit  of  Mammonism  with  its  Molloch 
sacrifices  of  human  lives  and  human  happiness,  is 
purely  Catholic  and  ancient  as  the  Church. 
Again  and  again  she  alone  has  succeeded  in  bring¬ 
ing  back  justice  and  charity  to  earth,  in  propor- 


32 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


tion  as  her  teachings  were  faithfully  observed;  and 
again  and  again  tyranny  and  economic  oppression 
have  been  the  result  of  every  temporary  weaken¬ 
ing  of  her  influence.  The  latest  example  is  that 
of  the  Reformation  against  whose  social  and  eco¬ 
nomic  effects  Socialism  is  no  less  a  protest  than 
is  the  Catholic  Church  itself.  But  what  Social¬ 
ism  can  never  achieve,  the  teachings  and  ideals 
of  the  Church  can  accomplish  if  duly  applied. 

In  contrast  to  the  enforced  collectivism  of  So¬ 
cialism,  based  on  false  ethical  principles  that  invert 
the  social  order,  the  Church  offers  full  liberty  for 
every  measure  of  public  ownership  that  the  com¬ 
mon  good  requires  —  but  no  more  —  and  for 
those  fraternal  systems  of  cooperation  where  own¬ 
ership  is  vested,  not  in  the  public,  but  in  the  indi¬ 
vidual  workingman.  She  teaches  that  man  is  not 
made  for  the  State,  but  the  State  for  man,  even  as 
her  Divine  Lord  was  obliged  to  insist  with  His 
Pharisaic  critics  that  man  was  not  made  for  the 
Sabbath,  but  the  Sabbath  for  man.  God  is  Lord 
both  of  man  and  the  Sabbath,  as  He'  is  Lord  of 
both  the  individual  and  the  State,  who  alike  must 
obey  His  commandment.  Hence  there  can  hardly 
be  a  worse  heresy  to  be  imagined  than  the  Socialist 
catchword  that  “  Religion  is  a  private  matter.” 


THE  SUBSTANCE  OF  SOCIALISM  33 

The  Church  is  not  instituted  as  a  teacher  ot  eco¬ 
nomics,  but  the  principles  of  the  Gospel  must  reg¬ 
ulate  our  social,  economic,  public  and  even  interna¬ 
tional  relations.  The  voice  of  the  Church  of 
Christ  may  not  be  ignored  in  the  social  issues  of 
the  day,  except  at  the  general  peril. 

To  the  Socialist  abolition  of  classes  the  Church 
opposes  the  unity  of  all  members  of  the  common¬ 
wealth  in  one  Christian  solidarity,  where  the  inter¬ 
ests  of  each  are  the  interests  of  all,  and  the  inter¬ 
ests  of  all  are  the  interests  of  each. 

The  fantastic  doctrine  of  equality,  in  defiance  of 
nature  and  nature’s  God,  has  largely  given  way  in 
Socialist  circles  to  the  demand  for  an  equality  of 
opportunity.  But  where  has  there  ever  been  such 
equality  of  opportunity  as  within  the  Church  her¬ 
self,  where  the  most  despised  slave  might  attain 
to  the  honors  of  the  chair  of  Peter,  and  more 
than  once  had  actually  done  so  in  the  past,  while 
men  from  every  rank  and  class  have  in  modern 
times  governed  the  Church  of  God?  There  is  no 
measure  of  equality  of  opportunity,  within  right 
reason  and  the  law  of  God,  that  the  Catholic 
Church  will  not  gladly  bless  and  approve.  What 
more  can  we  desire? 

The  equality  that  Socialism  would  promote  can 


34 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


be  tested  by  the  intolerance  that  everywhere  is  ac¬ 
tive  within  its  ranks,  an  intolerance  which,  through 
all  its  history,  has  reached  titanic  proportions 
wherever  the  interests  of  the  Church  were  at  stake. 

Yet  the  Church,  we  repeat,  has  no  animosity 
towards  the  person  of  the  Socialist.  Whatever  is 
good  in  Socialism,  as  it  is  popularly  proposed,  is 
essentially  her  own  without  exaggeration,  class¬ 
bitterness  or  hatred.  For  countless  earnest  and 
sincere  Socialist  followers  the  step  to  the  Catholic 
Church  should  be  exceedingly  easy  and  simple. 

The  great  protagonist  of  Catholic  truth  in  the 
United  States,  Orestes  Brownson,  had  first*  been 
a  radical  Socialist.  Many  of  her  most  active, 
alert  and  zealous  lay  champions  today  had  once 
been  Socialists.  With  nothing  but  good  will  to¬ 
wards  all,  she  stands  with  arms  extended  to  give 
welcome  to  all  who  from  the  errors  of  Socialism 
would  arise  to  the  heights  of  her  own  ideals  of 
Christian  Democracy. 


CHAPTER  IV 


RATIONALISTIC  CAPITALISM 


THERE  is  a  vast  difference  between  the 
system  of  rationalistic  capitalism,  by 
which  we  here  understand  the  modern 
commercialism  as  it  arose  after  the  Reformation, 
and  the  mere  fact  of  private  ownership  in  the 
means  of  production.  The  former  is  antagonis¬ 
tic  to  the  entire  spirit  of  Christianity,  the  latter,  in 
its  broadest  sense,  has  always  existed  and  always 
will  continue  to  exist,  despite  Socialism  and  its 
exaggerated  theories.  By  obliterating  this  dis¬ 
tinction  radicalism  has  gained  its  hold  upon  many 
earnest  minds. 

“  It  is  ordained  by  nature,”  wrote  Pope  Leo 
XIII  in  reference  to  the  forces  of  capital  and 
labor,  “  that  these  two  classes  should  dwell  in 
harmony  and  agreement,  and  should,  as  it  were, 
groove  into  each  other,  so  as  to  maintain  the  bal¬ 
ance  of  the  body  politic.”  Such  is  the  teaching 
of  the  Church,  and  such  is  the  ideal  of  all  labor 


35 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


36 

unionism  which  has  not  been  perverted  by  radical 
influences,  as  it  is  likewise  the  ideal  of  all  truly 
Christian  employers.  But  the  harmony  and  bal¬ 
ance  here  described  were  violently  disturbed  by 
the  system  of  economics  which  came  with  the  in¬ 
vention  of  machinery,  the  passing  of  the  gilds,  and 
the  growing  influence  of  the  Reformation  upon 
industrial  life. 

Be  it  clearly  understood,  therefore,  that  we 
heartily  desire  not  a  lessening  but  an  increase  of 
private  ownership.  We  would  extend  its  benefits, 
so  far  as  possible,  to  every  one.  For  this  very 
reason  we  condemn  with  firm  determination  the 
system  here  described.  Unfortunately  it  attained 
to  sufficient  prevalence  before  the  Great  War  to 
throw  discredit  upon  other  uses  of  private  capi¬ 
tal  that  are  not  merely  legitimate  but  highly  de¬ 
sirable,  and  which  should  be  promoted  by  every 
just  means.  It  is  the  system  of  capitalism,  as 
identical  with  the  post-Reformation  abuses,  that 
we  are  here  combating. 

The  two  essential  elements  of  this  system  are 
the  domination  of  capital,  particularly  “  money- 
capital,”  over  the  entire  economic  field,  and  sec¬ 
ondly  the  subordination  of  all  the  interests  con¬ 
nected  with  production  to  the  one  consideration  of 


RATIONALISTIC  CAPITALISM  37 

personal  gain.  It  has  therefore  been  properly 
defined  as  “  economic  rationalism.”  The  gospel 
rule  of  charity,  the  laws  of  justice  and  the  sanc¬ 
tions  of  religion  were  all  obliged  to  yield  to  the 
overmastering  considerations  of  profit,  rent  and 
interest;  in  a  word,  to  the  one  absorbing  idea  of 
personal  gain.  This  became  the  sole  motor 
power  of  the  entire  system  as  the  idea  of  religion 
was  eliminated  from  its  business  transactions. 

It  may  perhaps  be  objected  that  the  inordinate 
amassing  of  riches  was  not  unknown  in  the  Mid¬ 
dle  Ages,  which  immediately  preceded  the  capi¬ 
talistic  system,  and  that  then  as  now  men  might  be 
found  who  were  ready  to  sacrifice  charity,  justice 
and  religion  itself  for  the  sake  of  gain.  This  is 
perfectly  true.  But  the  essential  point  of  distinc¬ 
tion  is  that  there  was  then  no  system  of  economics 
which  sought  to  justify  such  a  course,  or  which, 
like  the  pagan  capitalism  we  have  described,  did 
not  even  deem  a  justification  necessary.  Its  law 
was  summed  up  in  the  materialistic  motto : 
“  Business  is  business,”  which  means  that  the  con¬ 
siderations  of  humanity  and  religion  may  have 
their  proper  time  and  place,  but  must  not  be  al¬ 
lowed  to  interfere  with  the  interests  of  personal 
gain.  A  man  might  grind  and  crush  the  poor, 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


38 

pay  starvation  wages  to  labor  and  exact  starvation 
prices  for  his  products,  and  yet  stand  justified  by 
the  principles  of  this  system.  He  might  even,  if 
he  chose,  be  crowned  as  a  philanthropist  and  pub¬ 
lic  benefactor,  to  satisfy  his  craving  for  publicity. 
Such  a  code  of  morality  was  impossible  in  the  Mid¬ 
dle  Ages.  It  could  never  be  tolerated  while  the 
Church  exercised  her  power  over  the  people. 
For  men  like  these  she  had  but  one  word,  and  that 
was  the  word  of  St.  James  in  the  Holy  Scriptures : 

Go  to  now,  ye  rich  men,  weep  and  howl  in  your  miseries, 
which  shall  come  upon  you. 

Your  riches  are  corrupted  and  your  garments  are  motheaten. 

Your  gold  and  silver  is  cankered,  and  the  rust  of  them  shall 
be  for  a  testimony  against  you,  and  shall  eat  your  flesh  like  fire. 
You  have  stored  up  to  yourselves  wrath  against  the  last  day. 

Behold  the  hire  of  the  laborers  who  have  reaped  your  fields, 
which  by  fraud  hath  been  kept  back  by  you,  crieth:  and  the  cry 
of  them  hath  entered  into  the  ears  of  the  Lord  of  sabaoth. 
(St.  James  v,  1-4.) 

Supreme  consideration  for  the  common  good  al¬ 
ways  remained  the  ideal  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
however  much  men  might  offend  in  practice. 
Egoism  was  the  sole  ideal  of  the  new  economic 
liberalism  that  followed  upon  them.  It  was  an 
economic  system,  with  no  interest  save  such  as 
might  eventually  augment  personal  gain.  There 
was  no  limit  to  be  set  to  this.  There  was  no  deli- 


RATIONALISTIC  CAPITALISM  39 

cacy  to  be  observed  in  the  choice  of  means  for 
accumulating  it. 

The  oppression  of  labor,  the  exploitation  of 
women  and  children,  the  destruction  of  family  life, 
were  all  normal  methods  that  never  caused  the 
lifting  of  an  eyebrow.  There  was  to  be  absolute 
freedom  of  competition  and  absolute  liberty  of 
personal  contact  between  employer  and  employee, 
in  order  that  the  weaker  competitor  might  be  re¬ 
lentlessly  crushed  to  the  wall  and  the  laborer 
might  be  hopelesly  enslaved  by  the  powerful 
employer.  Yet  the  men  who  practised  these 
enormities  were  not  considered  criminals,  but 
gentlemen. 

A  rational  and  perfect  system  of  large-scale  pro¬ 
duction  would  have  been  possible  under  the  in¬ 
fluence  of  the  Church;  not  so  the  system  of  ra¬ 
tionalistic  capitalism.  The  spirit  of  the  Church’s 
laws,  directed  against  usury,  would  not  have  pre¬ 
vented  the  taking  of  reasonable  interest  or  profit 
in  modern  industrial  life,  and  so  the  upbuilding  of 
a  sound  and  prosperous  economic  system,  but  it 
would  have  rendered  impossible  the  usurious 
profits  exacted  under  the  reign  of  commercialism. 

Again,  the  spirit  of  organization,  which  the 
Church  communicated  to  her  gild  system,  would 


40 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


have  helped  to  bring  about  the  widest  diffusion 
of  private  ownership,  but  would  not  have  allowed 
the  paralysis  and  destruction  of  labor  organiza¬ 
tion  which  now  took  place,  consistently  with  the 
principles  of  a  ruthless,  relentless  and  unscrupu¬ 
lous  struggle  for  gain. 

The  Reformation,  without  any  doubt,  is  mainly 
accountable  for  the  form  of  capitalism  here  out¬ 
lined.  In  making  this  statement  we  are  fully 
aware  of  the  apparently  conflicting  theory  put 
forth  by  Werner  Sombart,  attributing  its  origin  to 
the  Jews.  The  following  is  his  own  summary  of 
the  five  factors  which  he  believes  contributed  to 
help  towards  the  development  of  the  system  of 
unrestrained  capitalism  described  by  him  as  some¬ 
what  restricted  by  Christian  customs  and  morals 
in  its  earlier  period,  but  later  entirely  unembar¬ 
rassed  by  any  restraints  of  Christian  morality  and 
Christian  traditions : 

(i)  Natural  science,  born  of  the  Germanic  Romance  spirit, 
which  was  the  mother  of  modern  inventions.  (2)  Speculation, 
born  of  the  Jewish  spirit.  Modern  technical  progress  allied 
with  modern  speculation  provided  the  necessary  forms  for  the 
limitless  efforts  of  capitalist  enterprise.  The  process  was  still 
more  accelerated  by  (3)  the  general  Jewish  influence  which  since 
the  seventeenth  century  has  made  itself  felt  in  the  economic 
life  of  Europe.  From  its  very  nature  this  influence  could  not 
but  strive  to  extend  its  economic  activities  without  let  or 


RATIONALISTIC  CAPITALISM 


41 


hindrance,  regardless  of  considerations;  and  its  religion  far 
from  restraining  it,  gave  it  free  rein.  The  Jews  were  the 
catalytic  substance  in  the  rise  of  modern  capitalism.  (4)  As 
religious  feelings  became  weaker  and  weaker  among  the  Chris¬ 
tian  peoples,  the  old  bonds  of  morality  and  tradition  that  had 
held  capitalism  in  check  in  its  earliest  stages  gave  way,  until 
(5)  they  were  completely  removed  when  through  emigration  the 
most  capable  business  types  settled  in  new  lands.  And  so  capi¬ 
talism  grew  and  grew  and  grew.  Today  it  is  like  a  mighty 
giant  striding  through  the  land,  treading  down  all  that  stands 
in  its  path.  (“The  Quintessence  of  Capitalism,”  p.  357.) 

Were  we  to  admit  this  entire  analysis  the  fact 
would  still  remain  that  it  was  the  Reformation 
which  made  the  acceptance  of  this  system  possible 
after  it  had  been  originated  by  the  Jews;  for  Som- 
bart  admits  that  non-Jews  in  course  of  time 
equaled  their  instructors.  Never  could  the 
Church  have  tolerated  its  introduction.  It  does 
not  reflect  the  spirit  of  the  Old  Testament,  but 
is  the  economic  expression  of  liberalism  and  ra¬ 
tionalism,  and  therefore  of  modern  paganism  pure 
and  simple,  whether  practised  by  Jew  or  Gentile. 

The  new  system  of  capitalism  began  by  disre¬ 
garding  the  sacred  rights  of  the  laborer  to  a  rea¬ 
sonable  family  wage.  It  continued  its  work  by 
the  warfare  of  unrestricted  competition  in  which 
all  means  were  fair  that  might  crush  a  weaker 
rival.  It  completed  its  task  with  the  concentra¬ 
tion  of  enormous  fortunes  in  the  hands  of  single 


42 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


individuals  and  the  coalition  of  mighty  interests 
that  swept  everything  before  them.  It  ended  in 
the  establishment  of  gigantic  foundations  to  carry 
its  domination  from  the  economic  sphere  into 
every  other  field  of  human  activity,  seeking  to  con¬ 
trol  and  monopolize  charities,  schools  and  munici¬ 
pal  and  national  governments  themselves.  For 
this  purpose  it  became  the  custom  for  leading  capi¬ 
talists  to  purchase  or  otherwise  control  their  own 
papers  that  they  might  the  more  surely,  though 
covertly,  influence  and  control  public  opinion,  elec¬ 
tions,  civic  or  national  movements  and  enterprises, 
and  so  the  entire  life  of  the  people. 

Such  is  the  system  in  question.  Catholic  con¬ 
demnation  of  it  must  be  no  less  severe  than  that  of 
the  Socialist  could  be.  To  convince  ourselves  of 
this  fact  we  need  but  read  the  social  Encyclicals 
of  Pope  Leo  XIII.  But  we  differ  sharply  from 
the  Socialist  agitator  in  that  we  do  not  condemn 
capital  itself,  but  the  rationalism  which  thus  mis¬ 
used  it.  There  is  no  moral  evil  in  the  ax  where¬ 
with  a  murder  is  committed,  but  in  the  evil  heart 
which  gave  the  evil  counsel.  Under  Christian  di¬ 
rection  capital,  like  other  things  in  themselves  in¬ 
different,  can  be  used  for  the  economic  and  even 
the  moral  and  spiritual  welfare  of  the  world.  So 


RATIONALISTIC  CAPITALISM  43 

it  would  be  used,  and  so  it  has  been  used  even  at 
the  present  day  under  the  direction  of  the  Church 
and  the  guidance  of  the  principles  which  she  lays 
down.  It  is  the  task  of  every  citizen  to  combat 
the  spirit  of  rationalistic  capitalism  and  to  see  that 
it  is  supplanted,  not  by  a  compulsory  and  equally 
dangerous  and  destructive  communism,  but  by  the 
widest  and  most  equitable  distribution  of  private 
ownership;  not  by  Socialism,  but  by  Christian  De¬ 
mocracy  as  taught  in  the  great  Encyclicals  of  the 
Sovereign  Pontiffs. 


CHAPTER  V 


ETHICS  OF  JUST  PRICES 


THE  question  of  prices,  raised  in  the  pre¬ 
ceding  chapter,  is  of  universal  interest. 
For  the  poor  it  is  a  matter  of  daily  and 
often  of  anxious  consideration.  Just  prices  and 
fair  wages  are  two  hinges  on  which  revolves  the 
economic  welfare  of  the  world.  On  the  proper 
solution  of  these  two  cardinal  problems  depends 
far  more  than  the  mere  material  prosperity  of  a 
nation,  for  extortionate  prices  and  unfair  wages 
form  together  one  of  the  most  serious  social  and 
moral  perils  of  our  age.  They  are  not  indeed  the 
fatalistic  cause  of  radicalism  and  vice,  as  non- 
Catholic  sociologists  often  teach,  but  they  are  the 
fruitful  occasion  of  these  evils. 

The  ethics  of  modern  “  commercialism  ”  are 
familiar  to  us  all.  “  Demand  for  your  product 
the  highest  returns  you  can  prudently  hope  to 
gain,”  is  the  pithy  counsel  of  the  worldly-wise. 


/ 


44 


ETHICS  OF  JUST  PRICES 


45 


“  Eliminate  competition  by  all  expedient  means 
that  you  may  safely  increase  your  demands. 
There  is  no  Decalogue  in  trade.  Keep  within  the 
bounds  of  the  law,  wherever  it  is  effective,  and  do 
not  exasperate  the  people  to  the  danger  point;  but 
multiply  your  profits  in  the  surest  way  you  can. 
This  is  the  golden  rule.” 

When  the  President  of  the  American  Sugar 
Refining  Company  was  asked  before  the  Indus¬ 
trial  Commission  in  1900  whether  he  considered 
it  ethically  justifiable  to  make  consumers  pay  divi¬ 
dends  on  an  over-capitalization  of  $25,000,000, 
he  did  not  scruple  to  make  the  blunt  reply:  “  I 
think  it  is  fair  to  get  out  of  the  consumer  all  you 
can,  consistent  with  the  business  proposition.  .  .  . 
I  do  not  care  two  cents  for  your  ethics.  I  do  not 
know  enough  of  them  to  apply  them.”  ( Report 
of  Industrial  Commission ,  Vol.  I,  p.  118.) 

Far  other  are  the  principles  of  the  Church. 
They  permit  a  margin  of  profits  which  will  en¬ 
able  commerce  to  flourish  in  a  healthy  state,  but 
at  the  same  time  they  provide  that  the  life-blood 
of  trade  may  circulate  freely  through  the  veins 
and  arteries  of  the  social  body  for  the  common 
good.  They  forbid  excessive  charges,  a  source 
of  wealth  to  a  few,  a  cause  of  hunger  and  misery 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


46 

to  many.  They  neither  allow  the  cancer  of  cap¬ 
italistic  selfishness  to  fasten  itself  upon  the  social 
body,  nor  suffer  the  paralysis  of  Socialism  to  af¬ 
flict  society.  The  principle  of  just  prices  is  thus 
expressed  by  the  greatest  of  theologians,  St. 
Thomas : 

Buying  and  selling  were  introduced  for  the  common  benefit 
of  both  purchaser  and  vender,  since  each  stands  in  need  of 
what  belongs  to  the  other.  The  exchange,  however,  intended 
for  the  common  benefit  of  both,  ought  not  to  impose  a  greater 
hardship  upon  one  than  upon  the  other  party  to  the  contract, 
which  should  be  objectively  equal  ( secundum,  aequalitatem  ret). 
But  the  worth  of  the  article  applied  to  human  use  is  measured 
by  the  price  paid  for  it,  and  for  this  purpose  money  was  invented. 
Wherefore  the  equality  of  justice  is  destroyed  if  either  the  price 
exceeds  the  complete  value  of  the  article,  or  the  article  exceeds 
the  price  in  value.  Whence  it  follows  that  to  sell  an  article 
at  a  higher,  or  to  buy  it  at  a  lower  price  than  its  worth  is  in 
itself  unjust  and  illicit.  (Sum.  Theol.,  2,  2,  9,  77,  a.  1.) 

There  is  consequently  an  obligation  in  con¬ 
science  of  neither  selling  above  the  just  price, 
which  represents  the  value  of  an  article  at  a  given 
time  and  place,  nor  forcing  a  sale  beneath  it.  But 
how  is  this  just  price  to  be  determined?  Is  it 
mathematically  defined  for  any  period  and  local¬ 
ity,  or  is  it  sufficiently  elastic  to  expand  and  con¬ 
tract  within  fixed  limits? 

From  what  has  already  been  said  it  is  clear  that 
the  Church  will  not  admit  as  a  general  principle 


ETHICS  OF  JUST  PRICES 


47 


that  a  price  is  just  simply  because  it  has  been 
agreed  upon  between  seller  and  buyer.  So  like¬ 
wise  she  will  not  admit  that  wages  are  just  simply 
because  they  were  determined  by  a  “  free  ”  con¬ 
tract  between  employer  and  employed.  On  this 
principle  the  stronger  in  wealth  or  the  more  cun¬ 
ning  in  wit  could  always  take  advantage  of  his 
weaker  and  more  innocent  brother.  Such  is  the 
theory  of  liberalism  and  modern  commercialism, 
but  such  is  not  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  of 
Christ. 

Yet  neither  is  she  extreme  in  any  of  her  views, 
and  her  teachers  readily  concede  that  in  excep¬ 
tional  instances,  where  no  other  standard  can  be 
applied,  prices  must  be  based  upon  free  agreement 
between  purchaser  and  seller.  Such  is  the  case 
where  there  is  question  of  curios,  rarities,  master¬ 
pieces  of  art  or  other  articles  of  extraordinary 
value,  or  objects  whose  real  worth  neither  party  is 
able  rightly  to  appraise.  Such  is  the  case  like¬ 
wise  where  articles  are  sold  that  have  already 
been  worn  by  use.  The  price  then  determined 
by  free  agreement  is  technically  known  as  the 
“  conventional  ”  price.  So,  too,  the  price  at  an 
auction  sale  is  that  which  an  article  can  bring  ac¬ 
cording  to  honest  bidding. 


48 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


Aside  from  such  rare  exceptions,  however,  the 
just  price  will  be  either  the  “  legal  ”  or  the  “  com¬ 
mon  ”  price.  The  former  is  the  price  definitely 
prescribed  by  the  law,  where  such  exists.  Thus 
in  the  Middle  Ages  the  prices  of  the  principal 
commodities  were  determined  by  the  gilds,  and 
strict  adherence  to  these  rulings  was  enforced  by 
the  gild  officials  supported  by  the  civic  authorities. 
Legal  prices  are  always  binding  in  conscience,  un¬ 
less  obviously  unjust.  It  was  a  wise  principle 
that  neither  the  actual  buyer  nor  the  actual  seller 
are  the  best  judges  of  the  price  at  which  an  article 
should  be  sold,  that  so  the  common  good  might 
always  be  kept  in  view.  Hence  the  universal 
principle  of  price-fixing  on  the  part  of  the  gilds. 

Where  legal  regulations  do  not  exist,  there  re¬ 
mains  but  one  way  in  which  the  just  price  can  ordi¬ 
narily  be  determined,  and  that  is  by  the  common 
estimation  of  men  setting  the  value  of  any  article 
in  a  given  time  and  place.  This  is  known  as  the 
“  common  ”  or  “  natural  ”  price. 

The  common  price,  as  we  can  readily  under¬ 
stand,  is  not  to  be  determined,  like  the  legal  price, 
with  mathematical  precision.  Catholic  moralists, 
therefore,  acknowledge  a  highest,  a  lowest,  and  an 
average  or  mean  common  price,  all  of  which  re- 


ETHICS  OF  JUST  PRICES 


49 


main  within  the  strict  limits  of  justice,  according 
to  the  popular  estimation  of  men.  They  indicate 
respectively  the  highest  price  at  which  truly  hon¬ 
est  men  would  try  to  sell  an  article,  the  lowest  at 
which  they  might  try  to  purchase  it  from  others, 
and  the  average  at  which  it  would  be  ordinarily 
sold  by  such  bargainers.  The  margin  between 
the  highest  and  lowest  just  price  is  greatest  in 
commodities  that  minister  to  mere  pleasure  and 
luxury,  and  least  in  those  that  pertain  to  the  ne¬ 
cessities  of  life. 

St.  Alphonsus  has  laid  down  a  rule  which  is  ac¬ 
cepted  as  applicable  in  the  sale  of  ordinary  arti¬ 
cles.  Thus  if  the  mean  just  price  is  five,  he  says, 
then  the  highest  price  might  rise  to  six,  and  the 
lowest  fall  to  four;  if  the  mean  common  price  is 
ten,  the  extremes  will  be  eight  and  eleven;  if  the 
mean  is  ioo,  the  extremes  may  be  95  and  105. 
Others  admit  that  these  prices  might  reach  to  90 
and  no  without  injustice.  The  proportion  natu¬ 
rally  cannot  remain  the  same  as  when  the  sum  is 
small. 

In  determining  the  just  price  there  is  question 
not  of  an  individual  judgment,  but  of  a  social 
judgment  formed  by  the  great  body  of  buyers  and 
sellers,  who  together  sufficiently  take  into  account 


50 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


all  the  factors  that  can  reasonably  enter  into  the 
process  of  production,  transportation  and  sale. 
The  estimate  to  be  followed  is  the  common  esti¬ 
mate  of  the  place  in  which  the  sale  is  made  even 
though  this  should  differ  widely  from  that  obtain¬ 
ing  in  other  lands. 

While  the  highest  as  well  as  the  lowest  common 
prices  are  just,  yet  an  injustice  is  committed  when¬ 
ever  either  the  highest  or  lowest  just  prices  are 
secured  in  place  of  a  less  favorable  just  price  by 
real  fraud.  We  can  readily  understand  there¬ 
fore  how  criminally  unjust  it  is  to  raise  or  depress 
by  unrighteous  means  the  common  or  natural 
market  price,  which  may  be  said  to  coincide  with 
the  common  or  natural  price  of  moral  theologians. 
We  thus  see  how  practical  is  the  teaching  of  the 
Church  upon  this  as  upon  all  other  questions. 

Accidentally,  however,  the  price  may  be  raised 
above  the  normal  value  of  the  article,  according 
to  St.  Thomas,  when  the  person  who  sells  it  suf¬ 
fers  some  special  loss  by  parting  with  it.  This 
principle  is  further  developed  by  Catholic  moral¬ 
ists  who  mention  various  exceptional  instances  in 
which  the  highest  common  just  price  may  be  ex¬ 
ceeded,  as  when  the  seller  has  a  particular  affec¬ 
tion  for  the  article  which,  for  example,  might 


ETHICS  OF  JUST  PRICES 


51 


be  an  heirloom  in  his  family;  or  when  he  sacrifices 
opportunities  of  future  gains  by  parting  with  it  at 
a  certain  time.  Similarly  an  article  may  be 
bought  below  the  lowest  common  just  price  when 
the  seller  comes  of  his  own  accord  in  order  to 
dispose  of  it.  Even  here,  however,  no  undue  ad¬ 
vantage  may  be  taken  when  poverty  or  necessity 
urge  such  a  step. 

St.  Thomas,  and  so  likewise  St.  Alphonsus, 
would  not  permit  any  article  to  be  sold  above  the 
highest  common  just  price  because  of  any  special 
value  it  might  have  for  the  purchaser.  “  If  any 
one,”  writes  the  Angelic  Doctor,  “  derives  great 
advantage  from  what  he  buys,  but  he  who  sells 
the  article  suffers  no  loss  by  parting  with  it,  then 
the  latter  may  not  sell  it  at  a  higher  price  (than 
the  highest  common  price).  The  reason  is  be¬ 
cause  the  special  advantage  which  the  object  pos¬ 
sesses  for  the  purchaser  does  not  arise  from  the 
seller,  but  solely  from  the  condition  of  the  buyer. 
But  no  one  may  sell  to  another  what  is  not  his 
own.”  It  is,  however,  considered  quite  proper 
that  the  purchaser  should  freely  give  a  donation 
over  and  above  the  just  price  which  he  pays. 

Father  Noldin,  with  some  other  modern  moral¬ 
ists,  is  of  opinion  that  there  is  nevertheless  reason 


52 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


for  charging  above  the  highest  common  just  price 
in  such  a  case,  but  he  would  not,  of  course,  permit 
this  charge  to  become  exorbitant.  In  common 
with  all  other  theologians  he  moreover  expressly 
states  that  such  an  exception  can  apply  only  where 
the  purchaser  has  in  view  his  own  convenience  and 
pleasure.  All  Catholic  moralists  agree,  with  per¬ 
fect  unanimity,  that  it  would  be  an  injustice  to 
charge  more  than  the  normally  just  price  because 
another  stands  in  real  need  of  any  object:  “  The 
mere  want  and  necessity  which  force  a  person  to 
buy  are  not  ratable  at  a  price.” 

How  vastly  different  this  from  the  doctrine  and 
practice  of  the  unjust  commercialism  of  our  day! 


CHAPTER  VI 


MORALITY  OF  MONOPOLISTIC 

PRICES 

WE  are  living  in  an  age  of  corporations, 
trusts,  and  monopolies.  As  a  con¬ 
sequence  the  vexed  problem  of  prices 
cannot  be  considered  without  direct  reference  to 
them.  In  fact  this  problem  is  intimately  con¬ 
nected  with  the  question  of  exacting  justice  from 
the  powerful  interests  which,  if  unregulated,  can 
control  the  wealth,  the  industry,  and  the  resources 
of  the  world. 

That  gigantic  organizations,  once  they  have  as¬ 
sumed  the  proportions  of  actual  or  virtual  monopo¬ 
lies,  are  in  reality  a  condition  for  obtaining  the 
greatest  efficiency,  and  hence  for  reducing  prices 
in  spite  of  enormous  profits,  is  a  contention  often 
made  in  the  past.  Competition  can  no  doubt  be¬ 
come  excessive,  but  the  conviction  is  growing  that 
corporations  can  reach  a  magnitude  at  which  they 
become  economically  wasteful.  There  is  no  evi- 

53 


54 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


dence  to  prove  that  efficiency  increases  in  propor¬ 
tion  to  the  vastness  of  a  monopolistic  enterprise. 
In  the  opinion  of  competent  judges  the  same,  or 
even  a  higher  degree  of  efficiency,  can  be  attained 
under  a  competitive  system  which  combines  the  ad¬ 
vantages  of  moderately  large-scale  production 
with  the  benefits  of  competitive  prices. 

The  huge  profits  accumulated  by  some  of  our 
monopolistic  business  ventures  are  therefore  likely 
to  be  due,  not  to  superior  efficiency,  but  to  the 
power  of  inflicting  extravagant  prices  upon  the 
people.  Declarations  of  dividends  which  seem 
to  justify  the  prices  charged  for  products  are  not 
necessarily  a  safe  index  of  conditions.  The  cost 
of  production  can  be  raised,  actually  or  fictitiously, 
to  the  great  personal  aggrandizement  of  the  initi¬ 
ated,  while  the  consumer  is  made  to  pay  the  entire 
false  surplus  gain,  where  it  is  not  taken  out  of  the 
wages  of  the  laborers  and  the  dividends  of  the 
petty  shareholders. 

As  an  example,  rich  contracts,  resulting  in  a 
needless  increase  in  the  cost  of  production,  can  be 
given  out  to  firms  in  which  the  directors  of  the 
monopoly  have  large  vested  interests,  unless  gov¬ 
ernment  restrictions  prevent  this  form  of  robbery. 
Or  the  familiar  device  of  stock-watering  may  be 


MORALITY  OF  MONOPOLISTIC  PRICES  55 

resorted  to,  which  affects  the  consumers’  prices  as 
well  as  the  dividends  of  the  small  stock  owners. 
Profits  can  in  this  way  be  drawn  by  the  inner  circle 
upon  a  presumed  capitalization  of  $1,000,000 
where  only  $500,000  were  actually  invested. 
The  published  figures,  based  upon  this  fictitious 
capital,  may  delude  purchasers  into  paying  an  en¬ 
tirely  unwarranted  price,  while  minor  sharehold¬ 
ers  receive  precisely  one-half  of  the  dividends  that 
would  otherwise  fall  to  them. 

The  public,  we  are  told,  was  not  able,  in  times 
past,  to  trace  the  connection  between  the  bank¬ 
ruptcy  of  a  once  prosperous  railroad  and  the 
bloated  fortune  of  a  syndicate  that  “  financed  ”  it. 
Thus  the  parties  “  financing  ”  a  road  might  au¬ 
thorize  the  purchase  of  bankrupt  properties,  as 
such  deals  are  said  to  have  been  transacted,  and 
at  the  same  time  conduct  a  short-term  loan  in 
which  millions  of  dollars  would  be  invested  by  the 
public  in  short-term  notes.  No  one,  but  those 
within  the  inner  circle,  could  know  of  the  “  dis¬ 
counts,  banking  commissions  and  interests  ”  that 
absorbed  all  the  surplus  gains,  while  the  road 
appeared  to  prosper.  The  bankrupt  properties 
themselves,  in  the  meantime,  would  create  increas¬ 
ing  deficits,  and  the  short-term  loan  could  not  be 


56  THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 

met  any  more.  Before  long  the  grim  revelation 
of  a  funded  debt  of  hundreds  of  millions  of  dol¬ 
lars  would  startle  the  public.  The  total  obliga¬ 
tions  had  risen  into  incredible  sums.  Bankruptcy 
would  follow  and  the  short-term  loans  remain  for¬ 
ever  unpaid.  The  men  who  skilfully  u  financed  ” 
the  soundly  prosperous  railroad  to  its  ruin  would 
probably  vanish  from  the  scene  before  the  great 
catastrophe.  An  unsophisticated  public  might 
readily  believe  that  the  railroad  rates  had  been 
inadequate. 

Although  the  day  of  the  small  tradesman  is 
past,  yet  the  laws  of  justice  have  not  changed,  and 
can  be  applied  as  perfectly  in  our  age  of  giant  cor¬ 
porations  as  in  the  period  of  the  medieval  gilds. 
It  is  the  perfection  of  the  Church  that  her  teaching 
is  adaptable,  without  any  alteration  of  principle, 
to  every  economic,  social  and  civic  development 
that  time  may  bring,  for  she  was  founded  by  Christ 
for  all  time.  Her  laws  do  not  interfere  with  any 
phase  of  rightful  industrial  development,  but  they 
defend  under  all  circumstances  the  just  claims  of 
the  poor,  the  helpless  or  the  weak. 

A  monopoly  may,  in  the  first  place,  be  legal  and 
public  in  its  nature,  established  and  conducted  by 


MORALITY  OF  MONOPOLISTIC  PRICES  57 

the  Government  itself  as  in  the  case  of  the  postal 
system.  Kept  within  proper  limits  such  monopo¬ 
lies  are  entirely  licit  and  may  be  made  a  source  of 
public  revenue.  The  reason  is  because  they  are 
intended  solely  for  the  common  good.  Even 
should  prices  be  raised  above  normal  competitive 
rates  in  order  to  secure  larger  incomes,  such  an 
Increase  would  be  merely  another  form  of  indirect 
taxation,  and  is  to  be  judged  upon  that  basis. 
But  public  authority  may  also,  for  the  common 
good,  give  certain  monopolistic  rights  and  privi¬ 
leges  to  private  individuals,  as  in  the  case  of  pat¬ 
ents  which  are  granted  to  encourage  inventions, 
on  the  principle  that  such  encouragement  will  bene¬ 
fit  the  community.  Although  the  holders  of  legal 
monopolies  can  commit  injustice  by  excessive 
prices,  moralists  admit  that  it  is  difficult  to  set  defi¬ 
nite  limits,  particularly  where  new  inventions  are 
placed  upon  the  market.  Such  a  monopoly  is  not 
granted  in  commodities  necessary  for  life. 

The  great  suffering  of  the  people,  due  to  high 
prices,  is  not  caused  by  these  forms  of  monopoly. 
We  are  mainly  concerned  therefore  with  purely 
private  monopolies,  and  with  all  large  enterprises 
or  combinations  which  become  powerful  enough 


58  THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 

to  control  market  prices  or  influence  them  suffi¬ 
ciently  to  exceed  the  competitive  rate  which  else 
would  have  existed.  Under  this  head  come  like¬ 
wise  the  agreements  among  merchants  not  to  sell 
an  article  below  a  set  price,  and  particularly  the 
practice  of  buying  up  commodities  of  any  kind 
with  the  purpose  of  creating  a  “  corner.” 

Before  determining  the  rules  which  must  govern 
the  regulation  of  just  prices  under  these  various 
conditions  it  is  well  to  premise  that  justice  is  not 
violated  where  surplus  gains  are  due  to  special 
efficiency  without  any  undue  raising  of  prices. 
Neither  is  it  wrong  for  merchants  to  combine  in 
order  that  they  may  more  readily  procure  their 
own  benefits.  Independent  firms  may  further¬ 
more  agree,  one  with  the  other,  upon  a  price,  pro¬ 
vided  it  violates  neither  justice  nor  charity.  This 
is  particularly  the  case  when  its  purpose  is  to  en¬ 
able  them  to  pay  fitting  wages  to  their  employees. 
Experience,  however,  has  taught  that  “  rings  ”  are 
likely  to  end  in  seeking  to  extort  excessive  prices 
from  the  helpless  public. 

We  thus  come  to  the  general  laws  which  are  laid 
down  for  private  monopolies  and  for  all  other 
private  enterprises  that  gain  control  of  the  market. 
These  rules  are  not  spun  out  of  the  brain  of  any 


MORALITY  OF  MONOPOLISTIC  PRICES  59 

individual  writer,  but  are  the  common  teaching  of 
Catholic  moralists  at  the  present  day.  They  can 
be  briefly  stated  as  follows: 

(1)  The  prices  established  by  private  monopo¬ 
lies,  “  rings,”  and  similar  business  ventures  are 
just,  if  they  do  not  exceed  the  highest  common 
price  which  an  article  would  bring  if  these  under¬ 
takings  did  not  exist  and  the  market  was  left  open 
to  fair  competition.  It  is  supposed,  however,  that 
just  wages  are  paid  to  labor  under  both  systems. 

(2)  Prices  which  in  themselves  are  not  exorbi¬ 
tant,  because  they  do  not  exceed  the  highest  com¬ 
mon  price  which  would  have  obtained  had  these 
monopolistic  conditions  not  been  created,  may 
nevertheless  be  seriously  sinful  when  they  impose 
a  notable  hardship  upon  the  poor.  They  then 
constitute  an  offense,  not  indeed  against  justice,  but 
against  the  great  and  vital  law  of  Christian  charity. 
This  takes  place  when  the  poor,  in  consequence  of 
such  conditions,  are  constrained  to  buy  the  neces¬ 
saries  of  life  at  the  highest  common  just  price, 
whereas  otherwise  they  might  have  bought  them  at 
the  mean  or  lowest  competitive  price,  and  are  thus 
made  to  suffer  seriously. 

(3)  The  same  strict  laws  are  not  to  be  laid 
down  where  an  article  merely  ministers  to  pleasure. 


6o 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


The  reason  is  because  purchasers  can  simply  refuse 
to  buy  it.  In  such  cases  even  the  highest  common 
price  may  more  readily  be  exceeded. 

The  technical  term  frequently  used  here,  “  the 
highest  common  price,”  was  defined  in  our  previ¬ 
ous  chapter.  It  is  in  practice  the  highest  market 
price  for  any  commodity,  determined  by  free  com¬ 
petition  for  any  given  time  and  place,  if  the  mar¬ 
ket  is  not  tampered  with.  Theoretically  it  repre¬ 
sents  the  just  cost  of  production  and  sale,  including 
the  honest  profit  of  employer  and  merchant,  no 
less  than  the  fair  wages  paid  to  labor.  Finally 
it  also  includes  the  surplus  gain  which  may  come 
to  any  individual  or  corporation  because  of  su¬ 
perior  efficiency. 

There  is  another  phase  of  monopolistic  prices. 
This  results  from  the  effort  to  undersell  an  op¬ 
ponent.  It  was  one  of  the  most  common  methods 
employed  by  the  trusts.  If  a  firm  can  perman¬ 
ently  dispose  of  an  article  at  a  lower  price  than 
any  of  its  competitors,  because  of  greater  efficiency, 
there  is  at  least  no  injustice  committed.  But  such 
is  not  the  purpose  of  modern  underselling.  The 
prices  of  a  commodity  are  ruinously  depressed  in 
a  certain  locality  or  for  a  certain  period,  until  the 


MORALITY  OF  MONOPOLISTIC  PRICES  6 1 

competitor  has  been  crushed  to  the  earth.  They 
are  then  likely  to  be  systematically  raised  above  the 
former  competitive  rate.  By  this  method  injus¬ 
tice  has  been  done  to  the  man  ruined  in  business, 
since  trade  has  been  taken  from  him  under  false 
pretenses,  while  an  added  injustice  is  inflicted  on 
the  consumer  who  has  been  led  into  a  snare  and 
is  now  forced  to  pay  extortionate  prices. 

Crimes  against  justice  and  charity  have  thus 
too  frequently  been  committed  that  cry  to  Heaven. 
Prices  have  been  arbitrarily  fixed  and  supply  regu¬ 
lated  according  to  whim.  The  weaker  were 
driven  to  the  wall  and  the  poor  made  to  starve  in 
order  that  a  few  might  hoard  up  unjust  profits. 
The  welfare  of  the  consumer  was  entirely  disre¬ 
garded.  True  principles  were  lost  to  sight  be¬ 
cause  there  was  no  one  to  declare  them  with  pre¬ 
cision  and  authority,  except  the  Church  of  Christ 
whose  voice  was  raised  but  not  heeded. 

At  the  conclusion  of  these  chapters,  dealing 
with  the  question  of  prices  and  the  abuses  of  un¬ 
restrained  capitalism,  it  will  be  useful  to  quote 
a  passage  from  the  tentative  program  of  the 
British  Labor  Party  drawn  up  during  the  course 
of  the  Great  War.  The  words,  cited  here  at 


I 


6 2  THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 

length,  are  deserving  of  careful  consideration  on 
our  part: 

The  people  will  be  extremely  foolish  if  they  ever  allow  their 
indispensable  industries  (that  is  to  say,  those  which  affect  the 
supply  of  the  prime  necessaries  of  life)  to  slip  back  into  the  un¬ 
fettered  control  of  private  capitalists,  who  are,  actually  at  the 
instance  of  the  Government,  now  rapidly  combining  trade  by 
trade  into  monopolist  trusts  which  may  presently  become  as 
ruthless  in  their  extortion  as  the  worst  American  examples.  .  .  . 

The  Labor  Party  would  think  twice  before  it  sanctioned  any 
abandonment  of  the  present  profitable  (system  of)  centraliza¬ 
tion  of  the  purchase  of  raw  material ;  of  the  present  carefully 
organized  “  rationing,”  by  joint  committees  of  the  trades  con¬ 
cerned,  of  the  several  establishments  with  the  materials  which 
they  require;  of  the  present  elaborate  system  of  “costing”  and 
public  audit  of  manufacturers’  accounts;  ...  of  the  present 
salutary  publicity  of  manufacturing  processes  and  expenses 
thereby  ensured ;  and,  on  the  information  thus  obtained,  of  the 
present  rigid  fixing,  for  standardized  products,  of  maximum 
prices  at  the  factory,  at  the  warehouse  of  the  wholesale  trader, 
and  at  the  retail  shop.  .  .  . 

It  is  so,  the  Labor  Party  holds,  just  as  much  the  function  of 
Government  ...  to  safeguard  the  interests  of  the  community 
as  a  whole,  and  those  of  all  grades  and  sections  of  private 
consumers,  in  the  matter  of  prices,  as  it  is,  by  the  Factory  and 
Trade  Boards  Acts  to  protect  the  rights  of  the  wage-earning 
producers  in  the  matter  of  wages,  hours  of  labor,  and  sanitation. 

The  last  principle,  defining  the  function  of  Gov¬ 
ernment  in  the  matter  of  prices,  is  absolutely  and 
incontrovertibly  true.  The  methods  suggested  in 
the  preceding  section  are  also  deserving  of  hearty 
approval  wherever  it  is  found  that  they  will  pro¬ 
mote  the  general  welfare.  The  entire  passage,  as 


MORALITY  OF  MONOPOLISTIC  PRICES  63 

reprinted  above,  was  quoted  in  the  English  Jesuit 
publication,  the  Month ,  with  the  following  words 
of  comment: 

This  is,  of  course,  neither  more  nor  less  than  re-affirmation, 
in  modern  terminology,  of  those  ethical  principles  concerning 
the  public  control  of  commercial  finance,  or  in  other  words, 
concerning  the  fixing  of  a  fair  price  for  necessary  commodities, 
which  were  generally  recognized  throughout  the  Middle  Ages, 
but  which  it  had  long  been  the  fashion  to  deride  as  unenlight¬ 
ened  and  deservedly  obsolete.  {March,  1918.) 

The  writer,  the  Rev.  Herbert  Lucas,  S.J.,  then 
adds  that  as  a  matter  of  abstract  theory  the  State 
or  municipality  might  with  perfect  justice  fix  the 
price  of  all  commodities  if  this  were  both  expedi¬ 
ent  and  feasible.  He  believes  however  that  if 
once  the  price  of  the  prime  necessaries  of  life  were 
wisely  regulated,  it  would  be  both  possible  and 
sufficient  to  limit,  by  means  of  taxation,  the  profits 
arising  from  the  production  and  sale  of  “  what 
may  be  called  secondary  articles  and  still  more  of 
articles  of  luxury.”  Here,  as  elsewhere,  we  are 
to  be  guided  by  the  Catholic  principle  that  the 
State  should  interfere  only  in  so  far  as  the  com¬ 
mon  good  requires  its  just  and  prudent  interven¬ 
tion.  Prices  are  not  to  be  fixed  by  it  where  they 
can  of  themselves  find  their  rightful  level. 

Alluding  to  the  same  passage,  commented  upon 


64 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


with  such  approval  by  the  English  Jesuit  publica¬ 
tion,  the  Irish  Theological  Quarterly ,  edited  by 
members  of  the  Maynooth  faculty  of  theology, 
thus  expresses  its  agreement: 


Quite  right,  we  should  say,  unless  one  means  to  abolish  the 
Seventh  Commandment  and  hold  a  brief  for  the  profiteers. 
“  It  is  just  as  much  the  function  of  Government  to  safeguard 
the  interests  of  the  community  as  a  whole  ...  in  the  matter  of 
prices,  as  it  is  by  the  Factory  and  Trade  Boards  Acts  to  pro¬ 
tect  the  rights  of  the  wage-earning  producers  in  the  matter  of 
wages,  hours  of  labor,  and  sanitation.”  Have  we  come  back 
to  Catholic  England?  Or  are  we  reading  a  Middle-Age  theo¬ 
logian  who  wrote  before  the  individualism  of  Luther  or  the 
laissez-faire  of  Manchester  dawned  upon  the  world?  {April, 
1918.) 

These  strong  approvals  of  the  passage  previ¬ 
ously  quoted  from  the  tentative  document  drawn 
up  as  the  first  draught  of  its  program  by  the 
British  Labor  Party,  did  not  of  course  imply  an 
acceptance  of  the  entire  document  itself,  without 
discrimination.  We  may  hope,  however,  that 
once  the  thin  veil  of  Socialist  fallacies  has  been 
torn  asunder  labor  in  general  cannot  fail  to  see 
the  correctness  of  our  entire  position.  A  wider 
distribution  of  private  ownership  and  not  its  total 
abolition  is  the  goal  to  be  ever  kept  in  view. 


CHAPTER  VII 


PROBLEM  OF  THE  MIDDLEMAN 

WRITING  on  the  food  problem  in  the 
New  York  American ,  Herbert  Kauf¬ 
man  found  that  if  the  regulation  of 
mercantile  transactions,  the  fixing  of  prices  and 
profits,  and  the  limiting  of  sales  and  purchases  in 
the  Middle  Ages  acted  as  a  restraint  upon  compe¬ 
tition,  yet  the  cost  of  living  was  successfully  kept 
proportionate  to  the  community  income.  “  Man¬ 
ipulators  had  no  chance  to  corner  crops  and  create 
shortage  in  needables,  as  any  citizen  of  this  free 
and  enlightened  Republic  may  do  at  will.” 

In  these  few  words  the  author  has  touched  upon 
one  of  the  most  notable  features  of  the  gilds :  the 
account  taken  by  them  of  the  rights  of  the  con¬ 
sumer.  Not  only  was  adequate  provision  made 
for  strict  food-inspection,  fair  prices,  honest 
weights  and  measures,  but  even  the  possibility  of  a 
“  corner  ”  was  absolutely  removed.  Thus  to  pre¬ 
serve  intact  the  principle  of  brotherhood  and  to 

65 


66 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


prevent  excessive  private  purchases,  merchant-gild 
statutes  —  to  which  we  shall  here  confine  ourselves 
—  obliged  the  buyer  to  share  his  larger  purchases, 
at  the  original  cost,  with  any  gildsman  who  desired 
it.  This  desire,  however,  was  to  be  manifested 
before  the  commodity  had  actually  been  delivered. 
The  following  two  statutes  of  the  Southampton 
gild  may  be  taken  as  typical  of  an  entire  class  of 
gild  legislation  : 


(24)  Any  one  of  the  merchant  gild  shall  share  in  all  mer¬ 
chandise  which  another  gildsman,  or  any  other  person  shall  buy, 
if  he  comes  and  demands  part,  and  is  on  the  spot  where  the 
merchandise  is  bought,  so  that  he  satisfy  the  seller  and  give  se¬ 
curity  for  his  own  part. 

(61)  If  any  one  of  the  town  buys  a  shipload  of  wine,  or  corn 
in  the  gross,  and  a  burgess  of  the  town  desires  to  have  a  tun 
of  wine,  or  two  or  three  quarters  of  corn  for  his  own  use,  he 
shall  have  it  at  the  price  for  which  it  was  bought  any  time,  while 
the  purchased  goods  remain  in  the  seller’s  hands. 

The  Scotch  merchant  gild  of  Berwick-upon- 
Tweed  acquaints  us  with  the  definite  limits  set  by 
it  to  such  sharing,  and  with  the  amount  of  profit 
to  be  paid  the  purchaser  if  the  sharing  still  re¬ 
mained  obligatory,  after  the  merchandise  had  been 
delivered. 

From  this  it  must  not  be  imagined  that  large 
quantities  could  readily  be  bought  by  any  gilds¬ 
man  before  others  had  been  given  an  opportu- 


PROBLEM  OF  THE  MIDDLEMAN  67 

nity  to  make  a  purchase  upon  the  same  terms. 
Shiploads  or  cartloads  of  articles  brought  into  the 
city  could  not  be  sold  except  at  a  given  place  and 
at  a  definite  time,  if  there  was  reason  for  such 
measures.  The  violation  of  these  provisions  was 
known  as  the  crime  of  “  forestalling  ”  the  market, 
and  was  likely  to  end  in  a  fine,  besides  the  certain 
confiscation  of  the  merchandise  thus  illegally 
procured. 

Strict  limits  were  set  to  the  purchase  of  raw 
material  for  manufacturing  purposes,  so  that  no 
tradesman  might  bring  about  even  the  semblance 
of  a  monopoly;  thus  all  were  given  a  chance  to 
make  an  honest  livelihood.  Very  often  even  the 
lending  of  money  was  carefully  restricted  to  pre¬ 
serve,  as  far  as  possible,  a  full  equality  of  oppor¬ 
tunities  for  all  gildsmen.  Such  regulations,  it 
must  be  remembered,  were  not  imposed  by  a 
paternalistic  government,  as  Socialism  would  im¬ 
pose  itself  upon  a  nation,  but  were  willingly  ac¬ 
cepted  by  the  gildsmen  as  a  body  and  through  cen¬ 
turies  carried  into  execution  by  their  own  officials. 

It  need  hardly  be  said  that  the  illustrations  here 
drawn  from  the  Middle  Ages  are  not  meant  to 
be  applied  literally  to  our  own  times.  Attention 
is  merely  called  to  the  spirit  that  prompted  them, 


68 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


the  principles  they  exemplify,  and  the  end  they 


achieved.  Nor  would  we  wish  to  stand  sponsor 
for  every  gild  regulation. 

One  of  the  greatest  economic  problems  of  our 


elimination  of  the  mid¬ 


dleman  wherever  he  is  not  reasonably  needed.  It 
is  therefore  exceedingly  interesting  to  compare  our 
own  system,  while  unaffected  by  intelligent  coop¬ 
eration,  with  that  put  into  effect  by  the  merchant 
gilds.  The  wasteful  methods  to  which  we  sub¬ 
mitted  were  thus  described  in  the  American  Re¬ 
view  of  Reviews: 

Agents  or  drummers  go  to  the  country  to  solicit  the  shipments 
for  a  particular  dealer.  He  has  heavy  expense  and  usually  a 
good  salary.  This  comes  out  of  the  food.  The  produce  is 
largely  shipped  in  small  lots  at  double  the  freight  rates  of  car¬ 
load  shipments.  When  it  reaches  the  city  the  commission  dealer 
often  buys  it  for  his  own  account,  or  for  the  account  of  some 
company  in  which  he  is  interested.  As  a  trustee  of  the  pro¬ 
ducer  he  deals  with  himself.  It  then  goes  through  the  hands  of 
several  wholesalers  and  jobbers,  frequently  as  many  as  seven  in 
all,  before  it  reaches  the  retailer.  With  it  all  is  a  duplication  of 
cartage  charges,  first  from  the  dock  to  the  commission  dealer, 
and  then  from  one  to  another  of  the  wholesalers  and  jobbers 
who  speculate  in  it.  When  the  housewife  buys  her  supply  she 
pays  her  portion  of  the  accumulated  cost  of  wastes,  commissions, 
extravagance  and  profits. 


There  are  still  other  and  very  serious  items  of 
expense  which  could  be  mentioned.  They  all  tend 


PROBLEM  OF  THE  MIDDLEMAN  69 

to  discourage  the  producer  and  impoverish  the 
consumer,  since  upon  these  two  falls  the  burden 
even  of  railroad  trusts  and  of  the  watering  of 
stocks.  Contrast  with  this  senseless  procedure 
the  following  two  statutes  of  the  Southampton 
merchant  gild  which  again  are  typical  of  many 
others  that  might  be  mentioned: 

(64)  It  is  provided  by  common  consent  of  the  gild  that  no  one 
shall  sell  any  fresh  fish,  either  in  the  market  or  street,  but  the 
person  who  has  caught  it  in  the  water,  or  shall  have  brought  it 
without  Calshot.  And  those  who  bring  fish  in  or  about  shall 
bring  it  all  to  the  market  at  once ;  and  if  they  conceal  any  part 
of  the  fish  in  their  boat,  they  shall  lose  it  all;  and  if  the  fisher¬ 
man  deliver  any  part  of  the  fish  for  sale  by  another  than  him¬ 
self,  he  shall  lose  all ;  and  if  any  huxter  woman  buy  fish  to  sell 
it  again,  she  shall  lose  all. 

(68)  Every  person  who  brings  bread  in  a  cart  to  sell,  shall 
sell  that  bread  by  his  own  hand  and  by  no  other;  and  if  any 
such  bread  be  put  in  the  hand  of  others,  it  shall  be  lost. 

Similarly  the  statutes  of  the  Andover  gild, 
drawn  up  in  the  year  1279,  provided  that  no  car¬ 
penter  may  buy  timber  in  the  town,  with  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  selling  it  at  a  profit,  under  pain  of  losing 
his  entire  merchandise. 

The  aid  of  the  middleman,  regratarius,  who 
bought  to  sell  at  a  profit,  was  not  excluded,  but 
was  restricted  to  the  utmost;  a  principle  which 
can  be  applied  as  well  in  our  day.  Thus  by  the 
statutes  of  the  last-mentioned  gild  no  regratarius 


70 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


was  permitted  to  buy  chickens,  eggs,  capons,  geese, 
meat,  and  fish  until  the  goodmen  of  the  town  and 
country  had  made  their  purchases  at  first  hand. 
If  he  violated  the  law,  he  was  to  fall  into  the  inex¬ 
orable  custody  of  the  bailiffs  before  the  clock  had 
struck  six  in  the  morning:  Capietur  in  manus 
balliuorum  ante  primam.  Nor  could  this  law  be 
circumvented,  for  it  was  furthermore  enacted  that 
no  purchase  could  be  made  through  another  per¬ 
son.  A  special  regulation  is  likewise  preserved 
which  prevents  the  making  of  large  purchases  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  town,  before  they  reach  the 
market.  Thus  all  might  enjoy  the  advantages  of 
wholesale  prices  on  the  daily  necessities  of  life. 

In  determining  such  prices  care  was  taken  that 
those  interested  in  any  particular  industry  might 
not  exercise  an  undue  influence.  Thus  the  Wor¬ 
cester  merchant  gild  stresses  the  necessity  of  pre¬ 
venting  the  “  great  enquest  ”  which  decided  upon 
the  price  of  ale,  from  being  made  up  “  to  the  half 
partye  or  more  ”  of  brewers.  Similarly  two  “  ale 
conners  of  sadd  and  discrete  persones  ”  were  to 
be  appointed  on  election  day  to  test  the  ale’s  qual¬ 
ity.  Even  its  quantity,  as  we  find  elsewhere,  was 
restricted  to  prevent  over-production.  This  law 
obtained  in  other  industries  as  well. 


PROBLEM  OF  THE  MIDDLEMAN  7 1 

In  the  first  merchant-gild  statute  quoted  in  the 
present  article  an  omission  was  made  which  shall 
now  be  supplied.  It  reads:  “  But  no  man  who 
is  not  of  the  gild  can  or  ought  to  claim  share  with 
a  gildsman  against  his  will.”  Similar  discrimina¬ 
tion  was  elsewhere  frequently  exercised  against 
strangers  and  other  non-gildsmen.  The  charges 
made  upon  this  score  overlook  the  fact  that  in 
the  first  place  the  merchant  gilds  were  not,  in  their 
origin,  exclusive  organizations,  though  they  were 
not  immune  against  human  failings,  which  mani¬ 
fested  themselves  particularly  in  the  days  of  their 
decline.  In  the  second  place  it  is  to  be  remem¬ 
bered  that  upon  them  fell  the  burden  of  taxation, 
royal  levies,  public  improvements,  works  of  char¬ 
ity  and  benevolence,  and  in  fine  the  entire  burden 
of  the  little  commonwealth.  It  was  from  the 
merchant  gild  and  not  from  the  town,  that  the  king 
exacted  the  money  requisitioned  for  governmental 
purposes.  Non-gildsmen  of  the  town  shared  in 
the  general  advantages  procured  them  by  the  gild, 
but  were  free  from  all  its  responsibilities. 

Some  of  the  merchant  gild  statutes  will  doubt¬ 
less  appear  to  us  excessive  in  their  restrictions. 
So,  too,  they  were  at  times.  This  became  true 
particularly  in  the  day  of  their  decline.  But  the 


72 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


principle  of  providing  for  the  common  welfare  was 
never  lost  to  sight  as  long  as  the  gilds  remained 
instinct  with  the  true  Catholic  spirit.  Here  is  the 
prime  lesson  they  have  to  teach  us.  For  this  rea¬ 
son  they  provided  that  the  interference  of  a  mid¬ 
dleman,  and  therefore  the  raising  of  prices  for  the 
citizens,  should  be  prevented  where  necessity  did 
not  strictly  demand  it. 

Were  our  own  more  prosperous  citizens,  both 
capitalists  and  skilled  laborers,  to  unite  for  the 
common  good;  were  they  to  seek  first  and  fore¬ 
most  to  secure  for  all  alike  fair  prices  and  the 
elimination  of  exorbitant  profits  or  of  wages  in¬ 
consistent  with  the  general  welfare;  were  they  to 
bring  about  as  general  a  distribution  of  ownership 
as  possible;  were  they  to  act  in  political,  economic 
and  social  unity;  were  they,  finally,  voluntarily  to 
take  upon  themselves  the  burden  of  our  civic  im¬ 
provements  and  under  the  direction  of  the  Church 
supplement  her  Religious  Orders  in  carrying  on 
the  temporal  works  of  mercy,  like  one  great  Vin¬ 
centian  brotherhood,  then  the  ideal  of  the  mer¬ 
chant  gild  at  its  highest  perfection  would  be  re¬ 
established  in  our  modern  cities.  But  this  would 
be  possible  only  on  condition  that  the  Catholic 
Church  herself  should  once  more  win  for  Christ 


PROBLEM  OF  THE  MIDDLEMAN  73 

the  love  and  homage  of  all  hearts  in  a  lasting 
spiritual  union  of  faith  and  good  works. 

We  have  given  the  above  illustration,  contained 
in  the  preceding  paragraph,  merely  by  way  of 
parallel.  But  we  must  insist  upon  the  spirit  of  co¬ 
operation  between  all  classes  which  it  implies,  and 
the  need  of  religion  as  the  central  motive  making 
this  possible.  There  is  no  other  means  effectively 
to  remind  the  strong  of  their  duties  to  the  weak, 
the  rich  of  their  obligations  to  the  poor,  the  men 
who  have  been  given  power,  talent,  and  opportun¬ 
ity  of  their  great  responsibilities  towards  their 
neighbor  and  of  the  solemn  account  they  shall  have 
to  render  unto  God  of  all  their  stewardship. 

One  of  the  most  important  and  successful  move¬ 
ments  towards  a  partial  elimination  of  the  middle¬ 
man  is  that  of  the  cooperative  store,  described  in 
the  chapters  on  cooperation  in  the  present  volume. 
The  gains  of  the  small  dealer,  however,  are  not 
large,  and  in  so  far,  at  least,  the  profit  of  the  co¬ 
operatives  may  result  mainly  through  savings  in 
distribution,  where  this  is  skilfully  conducted. 
Of  the  movement  in  America  E.  Harris  says : 

American  people  have  demonstrated  through  building  and 
loan  undertaking,  cooperative  shipping,  cooperative  creameries, 
cooperative  insurance  and  in  other  ways,  that  they  can  work 


74 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


together  for  common  ends  as  they  would  be  required  to  do  to 
make  cooperative  buying  successful.  It  is  only  necessary  that 
people  get  the  same  intelligent  grasp  of  the  cooperative  buy¬ 
ing  idea.  (“  Cooperation.”) 

Before  the  outbreak  of  the  world  war  the  coop¬ 
erative  idea  had  already  made  wonderful  progress 
in  Europe,  while  its  growth  in  America  had  been 
comparatively  slow.  But  it  was  none  the  less 
constant  during  the  last  years  before  the  great 
crisis.  It  is  the  consumer’s  own  solution  of  the 
problem  of  the  middleman,  and  reflects  at  least 
something  of  that  spirit  of  fraternal  cooperation 
which  was  the  soul  of  all  social  and  economic  life 
in  the  Middle  Ages. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


THE  STATE  AND  LABOR 

BEFORE  the  advent  of  the  Church  the  duty 
of  the  State  towards  labor  was  almost  en¬ 
tirely  ignored.  Even  among  the  Jews 
the  conditions  of  labor  were  far  from  ideal,  al¬ 
though  the  hardships  of  the  bought  or  hired  serv¬ 
ant  were  greatly  reduced  by  the  divinely-given 
legislation. 

Religion  has  ever  been  the  main  defense  of  the 
workingman.  Paganism  in  its  most  complete  ma¬ 
terial  development  despised  labor  under  every 
form.  The  history  of  labor  in  the  ancient  pagan 
world  is  mainly  the  history  of  slavery,  and  slaves 
were  the  merest  chattel  in  the  eyes  of  the  pagan 
State.  According  to  the  wording  of  the  Roman 
law,  they  were  to  be  regarded:  “  Pro  nullis,  pro 
mortuis,  pro  quadrupedibus  ” ;  “  As  nothing,  as 
dead  things,  as  four-footed  beasts.”  That,  in 
brief,  was  their  legal  status.  They  could  not 

75 


7 6  THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 

even  contract  a  marriage  which  the  law  would 
recognize. 

The  same  conditions  returned  when  Christian¬ 
ity  was  swept  away  by  the  barbarian  hordes  before 
the  new  dawn  of  the  Ages  of  Faith.  The  slave 
was  the  master’s  property.  Even  with  returning 
civilization  his  testimony  could  not  be  received  in 
court  except  under  torture.  Such  were  the  rights 
of  labor  in  the  eyes  of  the  State,  except  where 
Christianity  had  been  able  to  bring  relief. 

After  the  lapse  of  centuries,  the  Church  suc¬ 
ceeded  in  impressing  upon  the  public  administra¬ 
tion  a  new  concept  of  the  rights  and  dignity  of  the 
laborer,  which  the  State  was  bound  to  safeguard 
under  the  Christian  dispensation.  By  her  doc¬ 
trine  of  brotherly  love  and  the  example  of  the 
God-man,  she  brought  about  the  abolition  of  slav¬ 
ery  and  gradually,  ameliorated  the  lot  of  the  serf, 
until  the  day  of  his  complete  emancipation  dawned. 
But  long  before  that  period  she  had  been  active  in 
inspiring  and  directing  social  legislation  in  favor 
of  the  workingman. 

The  laborer,  as  viewed  by  the  Church,  is  an 
integral  part  of  the  living  organism  of  society. 
He  has  therefore  social  rights  that  must  be  pro¬ 
tected  and  defended  by  the  State.  Numerically, 


THE  STATE  AND  LABOR 


77 


he  represents  by  far  the  greatest  element  within 
the  commonwealth.  Industrially,  the  prosperity 
of  the  entire  community  is  inseparably  connected 
with  his  daily  toil.  “  It  may  be  truly  said  that  it 
is  only  by  the  labor  of  the  workingman  that  States 
grow  rich,”  wrote  Pope  Leo  XIII.  Hence  the 
public  administration  is  under  an  obligation,  not 
merely  of  charity,  but  of  strict  justice,  to  provide 
for  the  welfare  of  its  laboring  classes,  and  it  is  the 
duty  of  every  government  to  see  that  “  They  who 
contribute  so  largely  to  the  advantage  of  the  com¬ 
munity  may  share  in  the  benefits  they  create.” 
(“The  Condition  of  Labor.”) 

But  the  obligation  of  the  State  is  based  upon 
even  higher  considerations.  Transcending  the 
purely  material  order,  this  duty  of  safeguarding 
all  the  just  interests  of  the  working  population  is 
founded  upon  the  end  of  society  itself,  which,  in 
the  words  of  the  Holy  Father,  is  “  to  make  men 
better.”  Economic  conditions,  as  we  need  hardly 
repeat  here,  can  exercise  the  most  vital  and  far- 
reaching  influence  upon  the  moral  and  religious 
life  of  the  people. 

“  In  all  well-constituted  States,”  says  the  great 
Pope  of  the  workingmen,  “  it  is  a  matter  of  no 
slight  importance  to  provide  those  bodily  and  ex- 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


78 

ternal  commodities  the  use  of  which  is  necessary 
to  virtuous  action.”  It  is  possible,  indeed,  for 
men  to  save  their  souls  under  the  most  distressing 
economic  conditions,  but  in  general  such  circum¬ 
stances  will  constitute  a  serious  obstacle  to  moral¬ 
ity  and  religion.  Hence  their  removal  is  practi¬ 
cally  “  necessary  ”  if  virtue  is  to  thrive  in  any 
community.  So  the  duty  of  the  State  to  protect 
the  rights  of  the  working  classes  and  to  provide 
for  their  material  well-being  is  lifted  into  the 
higher  sphere  of  true,  noble  and  virtuous  living. 

From  this,  as  an  important  corollary,  follow  the 
right  and  the  duty  of  the  Church  to  insist  that  the 
State  shall  faithfully  discharge  its  duties  towards 
the  laboring  man  and  the  poor.  Catholics  may 
not  be  indifferent  to  the  social  question,  nor  may 
priests  and  bishops  ignore  it.  The  Supreme 
Pontiffs  have  here  set  the  noble  example  which  all 
are  to  imitate  according  to  their  ability.  From 
whatever  aspect  or  angle  we  may  view  the  social 
question,  it  will  always  remain  a  religious  as  well 
as  an  economic,  political,  and  legislative  problem. 
Such  it  was  in  the  days  of  Isaias,  when  he  ex¬ 
horted  the  Jews:  “  Learn  to  do  well:  seek  judg¬ 
ment,  relieve  the  oppressed,  judge  for  the  father¬ 
less,  defend  the  widow.”  Such  it  is  today. 


THE  STATE  AND  LABOR 


79 


It  is  through  the  State,  as  a  last  resort,  that  we 
seek  judgment,  bring  relief  to  the  oppressed  and 
secure  justice  for  the  fatherless  and  the  widow,  as 
witness  the  Workmen’s  Compensation  Act  and  the 
Mothers’  Pension  Law.  Hence  the  duty  of  gov¬ 
ernments  is  thus  splendidly  defined  by  Pope  Leo 
XIII: 


Justice,  therefore,  demands  that  the  interests  of  the  poorer 
population  be  carefully  watched  over  by  the  Administration, 
so  that  they  who  contribute  so  largely  to  the  advantage  of  the 
community  may  themselves  share  in  the  benefits  they  create: 
that  being  housed,  clothed,  and  enable  to  support  life,  they 
may  find  their  existence  less  hard  and  more  endurable.  It  fol¬ 
lows  that  whatever  shall  appear  to  be  conducive  to  the  well¬ 
being  of  those  who  work,  should  receive  favorable  considera¬ 
tion.  Let  it  not  be  feared  that  solicitude  of  this  kind  will  in¬ 
jure  any  interest;  on  the  contrary  it  will  be  to  the  advantage 
of  all;  for  it  cannot  but  be  good  for  the  commonwealth  to  se¬ 
cure  from  misery  those  on  whom  it  so  largely  depends. 

No  defense  can  be  offered  for  the  post-Reforma- 
tion  principle  of  laissez  faire,  or  non-interference 
on  the  part  of  the  State.  Under  this  policy  col¬ 
lective  bargaining  was  forbidden  to  the  laborer 
and  only  the  fulfilment  of  contracts  was  safe¬ 
guarded  by  the  public  authorities.  It  was  the 
theory  under  which  the  demoralizing  form  of  un¬ 
controlled  capitalism  came  into  existence  and  grew 
into  a  menace  to  civilization. 

Yet  it  was  universally  upheld  by  the  economic 


8o 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


schools  of  the  day  and  accepted  as  a  practical 
working  principle  of  the  new  Protestant  statecraft. 
The  inevitable  reaction  against  it  gave  birth  to 
anarchism,  Socialism  and  all  the  various  forms  of 
modern  radicalism.  The  principle  of  individual 
bargaining,  based  upon  it,  was  the  economic  source 
of  an  endless  train  of  evils,  as  the  principle  of  the 
individual  interpretation  of  the  Bible  had  been 
their  religious  origin. 

The  laissez-faire  policy  could  obviously  have  no 
other  effect  than  the  destruction  of  the  economi¬ 
cally  weaker  party  and  his  complete  oppression, 
without  any  hope  of  redress  or  assistance  from  the 
State.  To  imagine  that  the  rights  of  capital  and 
of  labor  would  balance  themselves,  without  any 
superior  control,  was  no  less  palpable  a  deception 
than  to  fancy  that  man’s  nature  could  develop  most 
perfectly  by  granting  full  license  to  all  its  senses 
and  faculties.  Yet  this  logical  transference  of 
the  principle  of  laissez  faire,  from  the  economic  to 
the  moral  order,  has  actually  been  made  in  our 
modern  plays  and  novels,  and  in  the  philosophical 
and  educational  literature  of  the  day. 

When  the  need  of  State  interference  in  economic 
life  was  finally  admitted,  the  fatal  superstition  still 
lingered  on  that  the  first  object  to  be  safeguarded 


THE  STATE  AND  LABOR 


8l 


at  all  hazards  by  the  State  was  the  industrial  pros¬ 
perity  of  the  country,  meaning  the  interests  of 
large  fortunes,  rather  than  the  economic  welfare 
of  the  masses.  Catholic  State  action  in  favor  of 
the  people  is  even  today  confused  with  Socialism, 
to  the  great  gain  of  the  latter,  whose  borrowed 
plumage  hides  its  real  nature.  Socialism  is  not 
identical  with  a  reasonable  State  protection,  but 
with  State  tyranny  and  State  absolutism.  What¬ 
ever  popularity  Socialism  may  possess  is  entirely 
attributable  to  its  camouflage  Catholicism. 

.  The  principle  of  State  interference  can  thus  be 
briefly  summarized:  The  State  is  called  upon  to 
act  wherever  the  general  welfare  of  the  commun¬ 
ity  or  the  just  interest  of  any  particular  class  is 
imperiled.  State  interference  is  a  last  resort,  to 
be  invoked  when  private  means  are  inadequate. 
Under  every  form  of  society  such  action  will  at 
times  be  necessary  to  secure  the  rights  of  the 
weaker  party. 

But  the  principle  of  turning  over  all  power  and 
initiative  to  the  State  is  a  fatal  delusion  upon  which 
Socialism  is  founded.  It  finds  no  authorization  in 
Catholic  teaching.  We  shall  briefly  indicate  here 
four  aspects  under  which  the  welfare  of  the 
laborer  may  be  guarded  by  intelligent  legislation. 


82  THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 

It  should  be  noted  that  we  are  concerned  here 
merely  with  the  rights  and  not  with  the  obliga¬ 
tions  of  labor,  which  must  similarly  be  enforced 
by  the  State  where  the  public  welfare  requires  it. 
Many  of  the  points,  merely  suggested  in  the  fol¬ 
lowing  outline,  shall  be  fully  developed  in  other 
chapters  of  this  book. 

Religiously  it  is  the  first  duty  of  the  State  to 
secure  for  the  laborer  his  Sunday  rest.  This  im¬ 
plies  a  cessation  of  work  consecrated  by  religion. 
The  Sunday  rest  was  instituted  that  it  might  pre¬ 
serve  the  human  dignity  of  man  made  to  the  image 
and  likeness  of  God,  enable  him  for  a  time  to  for¬ 
get  the  business  of  his  daily  life  and  freely  lift  up 
his  thoughts  in  worship  to  his  Almighty  Creator 
and  to  afford  him  the  necessary  leisure  for  the  out¬ 
ward  practices  of  religion.  , 


No  man  may  outrage  with  impunity  that'  human  dignity 
which  God  Himself  treats  with  reverence,  nor  stand  in  the  way 
of  that  higher  life  which  is  the  preparation  for  the  eternal  life 
of  Heaven.  Nay,  more;  a  man  has  here  no  power  over  him¬ 
self.  To  consent  to  any  treatment  which  is  calculated  to  de¬ 
feat  the  end  and  purpose  of  his  being  is  beyond  his  right;  he 
cannot  give  up  his  soul  to  servitude;  for  it  is  not  man’s  own 
rights  which  are  here  in  question,  but  the  rights  of  God,  most 
sacred  and  inviolable.  (“The  Condition  of  Labor.”) 


Morally  it  is  the  duty  of  the  State  to  alter  con¬ 
ditions  of  labor  which  threaten  to  prove  detri- 


THE  STATE  AND  LABOR  83 

mental  to  virtue.  Thus  the  employment  of  chil¬ 
dren  by  night  and  as  messengers  sent  into  ques¬ 
tionable  surroundings,  the  temptations  to  which 
women  are  frequently  exposed  under  certain  con¬ 
ditions,  and  the  various  circumstances  that  lead 
to  vice  among  the  laborers  in  factories  and  else¬ 
where,  are  instances  which  call  for  prompt  and 
strict  legislation  wherever  due  provisions  are  not 
made  by  the  employers. 

Physically  there  arise  the  problems  of  sanita¬ 
tion,  of  the  prevention  of  industrial  accidents  and 
of  all  the  many  regulations  that  can  secure  for  the 
worker  such  surroundings  and  conditions  of  labor 
as  are  consonant  with  his  human  dignity. 

“  Women,”  as  Pope  Leo  XIII  warns  us,  “  are 
not  suited  for  certain  occupations;  for  a  woman  is 
by  nature  fitted  for  home  work,  and  it  is  that  which 
is  best  adapted  at  once  to  preserve  her  modesty, 
and  to  promote  the  good  bringing  up  of  children 
and  the  well-being  of  the  family.”  Conditions 
which  drive  the  mother  from  the  home  into  the 
factory,  likewise  expose  the  children  to  every  form 
of  vice  and  irrelegion.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  State, 
furthermore,  to  prevent  the  employment  of  women 
in  occupations  detrimental  either  to  their  physical 
or  their  moral  well-being  or  the  well-being  of  the 


84 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


children  to  be  born  of  them.  The  good  of  society 
requires  this. 

In  the  same  manner  children  may  not  be  placed 
in  workshops  and  factories  “  until  their  bodies  and 
minds  are  sufficiently  mature.”  For  just  as  rough 
weather  destroys  the  buds  of  spring,  so  too  early 
an  experience  of  life’s  hard  work  blights  the  young 
promise  of  a  child’s  powers  and  makes  any  real 
education  impossible. 

So,  too,  the  hours  of  labor  must  not  be  ex¬ 
cessive:  “  As  a  general  principle,  it  may  be  laid 
down,  that  a  workman  ought  to  have  leisure  and 
rest  in  proportion  to  the  wear  and  tear  of  his 
strength;  for  the  waste  of  strength  must  be  re¬ 
paired  by  the  cessation  of  work.”  (“The  Con¬ 
dition  of  Labor.”)  We  are  furthermore  told 
that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  State  to  remove  the  causes 
from  which  labor  troubles  are  bred.  . 

Socially  the  State  must  remember  that  normally 
a  family  depends  upon  the  wages  of  the  working¬ 
man.  Hence  it  is  not  only  necessary  that  his 
wages  be  adequate  to  support  a  home  in  Christian 
decency,  but  also  that  provision  be  made  for  the 
possibilities  of  unemployment,  sickness,  accidents 
and  other  circumstances,  including  death  itself, 
which  may  remove  the  bread-winner  from  his  daily 


THE  STATE  AND  LABOR 


85 

task  while  the  family  at  home  is  deprived  of  his 
support.  Hence  the  many  insurance  provisions, 
the  workmen’s  compensation  laws,  the  old-age 
and  the  mothers’  pensions,  and  similar  enactments. 

Here  again  the  general  principle  must  be  laid 
down  that  self-help  rather  than  State-help  should 
be  aimed  at  in  such  legislation.  Where  it  can 
equitably  be  done  it  is  better  that  insurance  laws 
should  not  be  based  upon  State  support.  This, 
however,  supposes  an  adequate  wage,  a  question 
which  calls  for  special  discussion.  It  likewise 
supposes  a  wider  economic  education  of  both  capi¬ 
tal  and  labor.  In  the  meantime  there  can  be  no 
objection  to  any  measure  of  State  help  that  exist¬ 
ing  circumstances  may  reasonably  require  in  the 
matter  of  pension  and  insurance. 

As  a  summary  of  all  that  has  here  been  said, 
we  quote  the  words  of  Pope  Leo  XIII: 

If  by  a  strike,  or  other  combination  of  workmen,  there  should 
be  imminent  danger  of  disturbance  of  the  public  peace;  or  if 
circumstances  were  such  that  among  the  laboring  population  the 
ties  of  family  life  were  relaxed;  if  religion  were  found  to  suffer 
through  the  workmen  not  having  time  and  opportunity  to  prac¬ 
tice  it;  if  in  workshops  and  factories  there  were  danger  to 
morals  through  the  mixing  of  the  sexes  or  from  any  occasion 
of  evil ;  or  if  the  employers  laid  burdens  upon  the  workmen 
which  were  unjust,  or  degraded  them  with  conditions  that  were 
repugnant  to  their  dignity  as  human  beings;  finally  if  health 


86 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


were  endangered  by  excessive  labor,  or  by  work  unsuited  to  sex 
or  age  —  in  these  cases  there  can  be  no  question  that,  within  cer¬ 
tain  limits,  it  would  be  right  to  call  in  the  help  and  authority  of 
the  law.  (“The  Condition  of  Labor.”) 

The  limits  referred  to  here  are  defined  by  the 
extent  of  the  evil  itself  or  of  the  danger  that  is  to 
be  removed.  So  far,  and  no  further,  should  the 
State  intervene  in  the  conditions  of  labor. 


CHAPTER  IX 


THE  STATE  AND  WAGES 


THE  masses  of  the  people  are  aroused. 

They  demand  an  adequate  share  in  the 
prosperity  which  they  help  to  create. 
Radicalism  is  in  the  air,  but  the  voice  of  impartial 
justice  is  likewise  heard  and  will  not  be  silenced 
again.  The  choice  lies  between  anarchy  and  the 
social  teachings  first  proclaimed  by  the  Church. 
Happily  sane  economic  opinion  daily  converges 
more  and  more  towards  Catholic  tradition  and 
Catholic  doctrine.  In  the  van  of  all  progress,  at 
the  very  height  of  the  social  movement  of  our 
day,  stands  the  Church. 

The  appeal  of  the  laborer  for  justice  comes 
close  to  her  heart.  It  is  above  all  a  demand  for 
an  equitable  wage.  Any  just  and  reasonable 
method  that  will  enable  us  to  secure  for  him  this 
inalienable  right  must  meet  with  her  hearty  ap¬ 
proval.  But  there  is  one  way  only  by  which  we 
can  attain  this  end,  and  that  is  by  legal  measures. 
It  is  as  vain  to  hope  for  the  conversion  of  a 

8  7 


88 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


dominant  class  of  selfish  capitalists  as  to  depend 
upon  the  method  of  social  revolutionists  who  would 
overturn  the  pillars  of  authority  and  plunge  the 
world  into  hopeless  anarchy.  Human  nature, 
even  at  its  best,  is  never  to  be  trusted  too  far, 
where  gain  and  profits  are  in  question.  The  most 
fair-minded  employers  best  realize,  moreover, 
how  difficult  it  is  to  carry  out  their  lofty  Christian 
ideals  while  forced  into  competition  with  uncon¬ 
scionable  rivals,  uncontrolled  by  any  curb  of  law. 

What  of  the  labor  unions?  Cannot  the  fight 
for  justice  be  confidently  committed  to  them? 
They  have  accomplished  much.  But  there  is  ques¬ 
tion  mainly  of  fair  wage  for  the  unskilled  workers. 
It  is  the  great  mass  of  the  labor  population  which 
stands  in  greatest  need  of  our  assistance.  These 
have  not  been  successfully  reached  by  trade  unions. 
Organization  has  made  little  progress  among 
them,  except  where  they  have  been  momently  swept 
into  some  revolutionary  movement,  a  peril  which 
is  always  imminent.  It  was  this  class  that  the 
I.  W.  W.  sought  to  mobilize.  Skilled  labor,  on 
the  other  hand,  can  sooner  or  later  exact  justice 
for  itself  where  it  has  not  already  attained  this 
end.  There  is  danger  rather  that  such  labor  may 
in  turn  become  tyrannical  and  abuse  its  power  to 


THE  STATE  AND  WAGES  89 

the  detriment  both  of  the  consumer  and  the  un¬ 
skilled  operator.  Of  this  too  we  have  had  exam¬ 
ples  in  the  past. 

Labor  unions,  based  upon  Christian  princi¬ 
ples,  are  perhaps  the  greatest  economic  necessity 
of  the  day.  But  even  when  animated  by  the  most 
altruistic  motives  they  will  find  it  difficult  to  come 
to  the  assistance  of  the  vast  mass  of  the  labor 
population,  except  by  promoting  intelligent 
legislation.  This  brings  us  back  to  the  very 
point  from  which  we  started,  the  need  of  State 
legislation. 

The  case  of  unskilled  labor  has  been  summed  up 
in  a  paradox,  or  what  may  appear  to  be  a  vicious 
circle.  Yet  the  statement  expresses  the  exact  truth 
of  the  matter:  the  masses  are  unorganized  be¬ 
cause  of  their  low  wages,  and  their  wages  are  low 
because  they  remain  unorganized.  Organization, 
in  other  words,  is  not  likely  to  be  successful  while 
unreasonably  low  wages  destroy  initiative,  energy, 
and  intelligence  on  the  part  of  the  worker.  Yet 
without  organization  wages  can  never  be  raised 
by  the  workingmen  themselves.  Extraordinary 
conditions  may  for  the  time  create  a  scarcity  of 
labor,  but  the  period  of  unemployment,  which  is 
certain  to  follow,  will  immediately  depress  wages 


90 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


to  their  former  level.  There  can  consequently 
be  no  hope  for  a  decent  living  wage,  to  be  enjoyed 
by  all  the  workers  at  all  times,  except  through 
legislation. 

Wage  legislation  is  a  tradition  in  the  Church. 
Minute  regulations  for  such  legislation  were  drawn 
up  by  the  Catholic  gildsmen.  State  sanction  was 
given  to  these  regulations,  and  gild  officials  were 
authorized  to  inflict  summary  punishment  upon  all 
offenders.  The  difference  of  remuneration  be¬ 
tween  employer  and  employee  was  often  very 
slight,  and  the  benefit  of  the  consumer  was  never 
lost  to  view  in  determining  the  wage-scale.  It  was 
not  a  question  of  securing  the  highest  wages  the 
union  could  enforce,  but  of  deciding  upon  the 
wages  that  would  be  fairest  for  all.  No  work,  no 
pay,  was  the  rule  set  down  for  employer  as  well 
as  for  employee.  No  employer  could  draw  profits 
without  actually  engaging  in  the  occupations  of  his 
single  trade.  These  rules,  we  should  note,  were 
drawn  up  by  the  Christian  employers  themselves. 

The  special  wage  legislation  required  for  our 
own  day  is  clear.  The  principle  of  a  living  wage 
has  been  laid  down  by  the  Holy  See.  It  can  be 
made  practical  only  when  enforced  by  law.  The 
conclusion  is  obvious.  Rhetorical  effusions  upon 


THE  STATE  AND  WAGES 


91 


the  doctrines  of  the  Papal  encyclicals,  from  the 
pulpit  or  the  platform,  will  never  solve  the  social 
problem.  The  masses  will  rightly  ignore  them  if 
no  practical  application  is  made.  That  applica¬ 
tion  depends  upon  us  and  must  be  adapted  to  the 
changing  conditions  of  place  and  time. 

In  the  question  of  wages  the  nature  of  this  ap¬ 
plication  seems  now  beyond  dispute.  Past  ex¬ 
perience  enables  us  to  proceed  without  hesitation. 
There  is  apparently  but  one  course  open,  as  a 
logical  beginning,  and  that  is  to  unite  solidly  upon 
a  minimum  wage  legislation.  It  was  a  Catholic 
priest  —  be  it  said  to  the  glory  of  the  Church  — 
the  Rev.  John  A.  Ryan,  D.D.,  who  first  effectively 
championed  the  minimum  wage  legislation  in  the 
United  States,  and  it  is  another  Catholic  priest, 
the  Rev.  Edwin  V.  O’Hara,  whose  name,  as  Dr. 
Ryan  himself  remarks,  “  is  written  in  the  annals 
of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  as  the  official 
upholder  of  the  first  minimum  wage  law.” 

The  principle  itself  is  plain.  Every  toiler  has 
the  right  to  a  living  wage,  a  right  which  takes 
precedence  over  every  other  consideration,  except¬ 
ing  only  the  right  which  the  employer  himself  has 
to  a  remuneration  which  will  enable  him  and  his 
family  to  live  in  reasonable  and  moderate  comfort 


92 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


according  to  their  position  in  life.  It  is  important 
moreover  for  both  employer  and  employee  that 
the  continuance  and  welfare  of  the  industry  itself 
be  wisely  consulted.  Beyond  this  there  can  be  no 
question  of  any  profits  until  the  living  wage  has 
been  paid  to  the  employees. 

Yet,  according  to  statistics  drawn  up  before  the 
war  by  social  workers  and  economists,  the  major 
part  of  the  adult  male  laborers  of  the  United 
States  were  not  receiving  a  living  wage.  Since 
only  an  impossibility  can  excuse  the  employer  from 
paying  a  living  wage,  and  since  millions  of  dollars 
were  at  the  same  time  garnered  in  profits,  it  fol¬ 
lows  that  there  existed  a  condition  of  social  in¬ 
justice  which  urgently  clamored  for  State  inter¬ 
ference  and  correction. 

What  then  is  a  living  wage?  In  general  it  is 
defined  by  Pope  Leo  XIII  as  a  remuneration 
“  sufficient  to  support  the  wage-earner  in  reason¬ 
able  and  frugal  comfort.”  For  the  adult  male 
worker,  according  to  the  spirit  of  the  Encyclical, 
it  is  a  wage  “  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  maintain 
himself,  his  wife  and  his  children  in  reasonable 
comfort.”  For  the  adult  woman  worker  it  is  a 
wage  whereby  she  can  reasonably  and  decently 
support  herself  away  from  home.  There  is  ques- 


THE  STATE  AND  WAGES 


93 


tion  now,  however,  of  that  wage  only  which  is 
the  very  least  that  in  the  sight  of  God  and  man 
the  employer  should  give.  The  worker,  more¬ 
over,  should  be  able,  when  all  expenses  have  been 
paid  for  family  or  personal  maintenance,  “  to 
put  by  some  little  savings  and  thus  secure  a  small 
income.”  Both  he  and  his  family  must  be  pro¬ 
vided  against  the  day  of  dearth,  of  sickness  or  un¬ 
employment. 

The  question  has  been  discussed  by  Catholic 
moralists  whether  the  obligation  of  the  employer 
to  pay  a  wage  that  will  not  merely  support  the 
adult  male  worker  himself,  but  likewise  his  wife 
and  children  in  a  reasonable  manner,  is  an  obliga¬ 
tion  of  justice  or  of  charity.  In  either  case  the 
obligation  would  be  equally  imperative,  whatever 
distinctions  may  be  drawn.  An  obligation  in  char¬ 
ity  is  no  less  binding  than  an  obligation  in  justice. 
According  to  the  letter  Pope  Leo  refers  only  to 
the  obligation  of  supporting  the  laborer  himself, 
but  leading  Catholic  social  authorities  hold  that  he 
implies  likewise  the  support  of  wife  and  children. 

The  plea  made  by  certain  Chicago  packers,  in  a 
local  court,  that  the  cost  of  maintaining  a  family 
should  not  be  considered  in  determining  wages 
ignored  the  dignity  of  the  worker  as  a  human 


94 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


being.  A  “  fair  ”  wage,  according  to  the  stand¬ 
ard  proposed  by  them  and  generally  recognized 
by  the  capitalistic  system  of  the  past,  must  be 
ascertained  by  the  market  rate  of  labor  in  the 
community.  If  therefore  wages  were  below  the 
living  line  in  other  industries,  the  packers  claimed 
the  right  to  employ  their  workers  under  the  same 
conditions.  They  fail  to  understand  that  a  wrong 
cannot  be  justified  because  it  is  likewise  practised 
by  others.  Such  principles  can  evidently  be  com¬ 
bated  in  no  other  way  than  by  Christian  legisla¬ 
tion.  It  is  the  absolute  duty  of  the  State  to  pro¬ 
tect  its  workers  under  such  conditions.  The  prin¬ 
ciples  enunciated  by  these  men  are  the  strongest 
argument  for  the  need  of  setting  a  legal  minimum 
wrage.  It  would  be  necessary,  if  for  no  other  rea¬ 
son  than  to  protect  Christian-minded  employers  in 
their  competition  with  criminal  profiteers. 

“  But  what,”  the  reader  may  naturally  ask,  “  is 
the  minimum  of  reasonable  comfort  which  we 
have  a  right  to  demand  for  a  family,  that  it  may 
live  in  accordance  with  its  Christian  dignity?  ” 
In  answer  a  single  detail  may  suffice.  The  very 
least  requirement  for  a  suitable  home  may  be  said 
to  be  about  four  wholesome  rooms  together  with 
the  modern  arrangements  for  cleanliness  and 


THE  STATE  AND  WAGES  95 

decency.  Food,  clothing,  furniture,  and  oppor¬ 
tunities  for  recreation  should  all  at  least  measure 
up  to  the  same  standard  of  self-respect.  This 
surely  is  a  moderate  demand  to  make  for  any 
family  that  would  lead  a  true  Christian  home  life. 

Yet  to  bring  about  even  this  much  it  may  be 
necessary  for  the  State,  besides  setting  a  minimum 
wage,  to  regulate  also  the  housing  problem.  It 
is  not  just  that  the  entire  burden  of  expense  should 
fall  upon  the  employer  and  consumer,  while  the 
landlord  raises  his  rents  wherever  the  need  is 
greatest,  because  workmen  are  obliged  to  accept 
his  terms.  This  is  a  question  too  extensive  to  con¬ 
sider  here.  In  radically  destroying  the  abuses 
arising  from  the  unearned  increment  it  may  be 
necessary  to  offer  compensation  to  present  owners. 

The  objections  to  the  minimum  wage  need  not 
be  discussed  at  present.  Experience  has  suffi¬ 
ciently  disproved  them.  Women,  as  a  rule,  have 
not  been  thrown  out  of  employment,  wages  were 
not  depressed  to  the  level  of  the  legal  minimum 
and  prices  did  not  soar  appreciably  as  a  result  of 
such  legislation.  The  accidental  hardships  that 
fell  upon  some  are  far  outweighed  by  the  good  re¬ 
sults.  As  for  workers  who  are  not  considered 
capable  of  earning  the  full  minimum  wage,  special 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


96 

permits  have  been  devised,  authorizing  them  to 
work  for  less.  Similarly,  where  the  payment  of  a 
proper  minimum  wage  is  impossible  for  a  time  in 
any  industry,  wise  allowance  can  readily  be  made 
for  the  sake  of  both  employers  and  employed. 

Thus  in  the  minimum  wage  law  for  women  em¬ 
ployed  in  professional  and  general  offices,  which 
became  effective  in  San  Francisco,  July  13,  1918, 
it  was  provided  that  permission  for  the  payment 
of  a  wage  lower  than  the  fixed  minimum  could  be 
obtained  in  cases  of  physical  disability.  Applica¬ 
tion  for  this  purpose  was  to  be  made  to  the  State 
Industrial  Welfare  Commission,  which  was  then 
to  fix  the  wage  of  the  individual  in  question. 
Since  the  legal  minimum  was  to  be  paid  after  a 
year’s  employment,  and  a  somewhat  lower  mini¬ 
mum  was  set  respectively  for  each  of  the  two  pre¬ 
ceding  half-year  periods,  it  was  moreover  pro¬ 
vided  that  the  number  of  beginners  permissible 
was  not  to  be  less  than  twenty-five  per  cent  of  the 
total  number  of  employees. 

The  first  step  taken  is  the  establishment  of 
minimum  wage  boards,  such  as  have  now  become 
sufficientlv  common.  Under  State  control  these 

j 

boards  decide  upon  the  just  minimum  of  remunera¬ 
tion  according  to  time  and  place.  Such  legislation, 


THE  STATE  AND  WAGES 


97 


however,  will  prove  to  be  only  the  beginning  of 
economic  readjustments.  Its  ultimate  object  must 
not  be  to  keep  the  workers  in  permanent  depend¬ 
ence  upon  a  small  capitalist  class.  The  aim  to  be 
kept  steadily  in  view  by  every  Christian  man  and 
woman  is  to  enable  the  workers  themselves  to 
share,  so  far  as  possible,  in  the  ownership  of  the 
land  they  till  and  of  the  industry  in  which  they  toil. 
This  is  not  Socialism,  but  its  very  opposite. 

The  Church  would  not  abolish  the  relations  be¬ 
tween  capital  and  labor  but  place  them  upon  a  more 
Christian  basis.  Labor  should  receive  not  merely 
a  minimum  wage,  but  a  suitable  remuneration  cor¬ 
responding  to  its  particular  service  and  not  con¬ 
flicting  with  the  common  good,  while  profits,  or 
the  interest  on  invested  capital,  should  be  reduced 
to  a  reasonable  minimum,  which  conflicts  neither 
with  private  initiative  nor  with  the  general  wel¬ 
fare.  Thus  will  the  nearest  economic  approach 
towards  social  reconstruction  be  made. 

Over  the  doors  of  every  State  Legislature,  over 
the  Hall  of  Congress  and  the  Senate  Chamber, 
over  the  august  tribunal  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  land,  over  every  council-room  in  which  the 
people’s  representatives  assemble,  should  be  writ¬ 
ten  in  letters  of  gold  the  epoch-making  message  of 


98 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


Pope  Leo  XIII,  the  most  important  legislative 
principle  ever  promulgated  for  the  promotion  of 
justice  and  good  will  throughout  the  earth :  “  Let 

the  law  favor  ownership,  and  let  its  policy  be  to 
induce  as  many  as  possible  of  the  laboring  classes 
to  become  owners.”  Here  is  the  only  solution, 
the  bridging-over  of  u  the  gulf  between  vast 
wealth  and  sheer  poverty,”  the  reconciliation  with 
one  another  of  all  classes  of  society,  the  social 
basis  of  lasting  concord  and  Christian  charity. 


CHAPTER  X 


DUTIES  OF  LABOR  AND  CAPITAL 

IT  must  not  be  thought  that  in  insisting  upon 
the  obligations  of  the  employer  we  are  over¬ 
looking  the  duties  of  the  laborer.  If  we  de¬ 
mand  for  the  latter  a  just  and  reasonable  wage 
we  must  equally  demand  a  just  and  reasonable 
service  in  return.  The  laborer  is  not  merely 
bound  to  abstain  from  all  acts  of  violence  and  all 
injury  to  the  employer’s  property,  but  also,  in  the 
words  of  Pope  Pius  X,  “  to  perform  wholly  and 
faithfully  the  work  which  has  been  freely  and 
equitably  agreed  upon.”  (“  Christian  Social 
Action.”) 

A  system  of  labor  retardation  has  been  adopted 
both  in  theory  and  in  practice  within  certain  labor 
groups.  This  may  not  be  wrong.  To  keep  pace 
with  modern  machinery,  at  its  top  speed,  often 
requires  an  intensity  of  effort  which  undermines 
the  strength  of  the  worker  and  shortens  his  life. 
Under  such  circumstances  it  is  well  that  labor 


i 


99 


IOO 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


unions  should  protect  their  members  against  these 
inhuman  demands.  So  too  it  is  right  to  forbid 
that  a  pace-maker,  of  exceptional  strength,  be  set 
over  the  men  to  work  them  to  excess.  On  the 
other  hand,  honest  work  demands  that  a  normally 
reasonable  amount  of  labor  be  rendered,  under  all 
circumstances,  within  the  compass  of  the  average 
laborer.  “  Loafing  on  the  job  ”  is  as  much  an 
injustice  as  denying  a  living  wage. 

As  an  instance  of  excessive  self-imposed  restric¬ 
tion  the  English  economist,  Sir  Hugh  Bell,  quotes 
a  pertinent  case  from  the  English  war  investiga¬ 
tions.  A  skilled  operator  engaged  in  copper-band 
cutting  in  a  Glasgow  engineering  shop  had  cut  on 
an  average  seventy-five  bands  a  day.  “  Under 
the  dilution  system  his  daughter  was  taken  on  and 
put  in  his  place,  receiving  such  training  as  was 
necessary  from  her  father.  It  was  not  long  till 
she  was  cutting  137  bands  a  day.”  Examples  of 
shirking  work  or  “  loafing  on  the  job,”  as  it  is  tech¬ 
nically  called,  are  sufficiently  familiar  to  us  all. 
It  came  into  prominence  even  during  the  nation's 
greatest  crisis,  in  its  most  important  labor,  the 
ship-building  industry,  at  the  very  entrance  of  the 
United  States  into  the  war. 

The  unscrupulousness  of  immoral  capital  in 


DUTIES  OF  LABOR  AND  CAPITAL 


IOI 


over-reaching  the  laborer  by  forcing  upon  him  less 
than  a  living  wage,  was  certain  in  the  course  of 
human  nature  to  find  its  corollary  in  the  denial 
by  labor  of  its  full  service.  Two  other  reasons 
for  labor  shirking  are  pointed  out  by  the  Editor 
of  the  Catholic  Charities  Review .  The  first  is 
the  indisposition  of  the  present  generation  to  do 
any  real  work.  “  The  young  men  and  women  of 
this  generation  of  working  people  are  distinctly 
less  efficient,  are  less  willing  to  engage  in  honest 
toil  than  were  their  parents  and  grandparents.” 
Our  educational  systems  themselves  have  often 
been  to  blame  and  men  are  wanting  in  character 
and  power  to  “  stick  to  a  job.”  There  is,  more¬ 
over,  too  often,  a  pagan  dread  and  disdain  of  labor 
such  as  existed  in  the  heathenism  of  the  past. 

The  second  reason  deserves  to  be  quoted  in  its 
entirety,  since  there  is  a  great  and  popular  delu¬ 
sion  upon  this  point. 


A  final  explanation  of  labor  loafing  is  the  assumption  that  the 
natural  and  artificial  resources  of  our  country  are  practically 
unlimited.  A  large  proportion  of  the  working  classes  are  under 
the  impression  that  if  the  product  were  only  more  equitably 
distributed,  there  would  be  enough  to  provide  all  with  abundance 
through  a  working  day  of  four  or  five  hours.  The  present  in¬ 
dustrial  order  is  regarded  as  unjust  not  merely  because  it 
makes  a  bad  distribution,  but  because  it  imposes  an  excessively 
long  working  day.  Hence  the  conclusion  that  if  a  man  does 


102 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


half  a  day’s  work,  he  makes  a  reasonable  contribution  to  the 
product.  All  these  assumptions  are  utterly  unwarranted.  As 
Professor  W.  I.  King  shows  in  his  work  on  “  The  Wealth  and 
Income  of  the  People  of  the  United  States,”  the  total  product 
of  the  country  in  1910,  divided  equally  among  the  whole  popu¬ 
lation,  would  have  given  each  person  only  $332.00.  Evidently 
no  possible  rearrangement  of  distribution  would  enable  the 
masses  to  live  in  comfort  if  the  present  working  day  were  cut 
in  two.  ( Catholic  Charities  Review,  March,  1918.) 

Could  Socialism  be  introduced  it  would  not  in¬ 
crease  but  limit  the  output  still  further,  as  it  would 
lengthen  considerably  the  hours  of  work  required. 
The  common  lack  of  enterprise  and  the  general 
labor-slacking  that  would  follow  were  men  con¬ 
demned  to  toil  under  Socialist  politicians,  without 
even  the  power  of  striking  to  better  their  condi¬ 
tion,  would  far  exceed  any  similar  evils  existing 
today  when  private  enterprise  is  ever  seeking  to 
promote  production  to  the  utmost,  however  far  it 
may  fall  short  of  its  purpose.  Socialist  State 
tyranny  would  not  advance,  but  lessen  the  laborer’s 
wage  and  would  end,  as  all  its  abortive  efforts 
have  ended,  in  chaos  and  ruin. 

For  capital  and  labor  alike  there  is  truly  re¬ 
quired  a  new  philosophy  of  life.  The  Church 
alone  can  offer  this  in  her  doctrine  and  her  prin¬ 
ciples.  It  is  with  no  slight  satisfaction,  therefore, 
that  we  behold  men  returning  again,  even  though 


DUTIES  OF  LABOR  AND  CAPITAL  IO3 

unconsciously,  to  her  views  and  teachings:  “  So¬ 
cial  reformers  of  every  school,”  as  Cardinal 
Bourne  rightly  says,  “  are  turning  more  and  more 
to  Catholic  tradition;  and  even  in  the  aspirations 
and  demands  of  extremists  we  may  often  discern 
that  belief  in  the  value  of  human  personality,  that 
insistence  upon  human  rights,  that  sense  of  human 
brotherhood,  and  that  enthusiasm  for  liberty  which 
are  marked  features  of  Catholic  social  doctrine.” 

Her  liberty  is  not  license,  but  insists  upon  duties 
as  well  as  rights,  and  her  brotherhood  is  all  inclu¬ 
sive,  embracing  both  capital  and  labor,  employer 
and  employed  in  one  bond  of  Christian  charity. 

“  It  is  no  easy  matter,”  wrote  Pope  Leo  XIII, 
“  to  define  the  relative  rights  and  mutual  duties  of 
the  rich  and  of  the  poor,  of  Capital  and  of  Labor. 
And  the  danger  lies  in  this,  that  crafty  agitators 
are  intent  on  making  use  of  these  differences  of 
opinion  to  pervert  men’s  judgments  and  to  stir  up 
the  people  to  revolt. 

“  But  all  agree,  and  there  can  be  no  question 
whatever,  that  some  remedy  must  be  found,  and 
found  quickly,  for  the  misery  and  wretchedness 
pressing  so  heavily  and  unjustly  at  this  moment 
on  the  vast  majority  of  the  working  classes.” 
(“The  Condition  of  Labor.”) 


104  THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 

Since  these  lines  were  penned  great  progress 
had  in  many  ways  been  made  before  the  outbreak 
of  the  Great  War  in  promoting  the  interests  of 
labor;  but  much  remained  to  be  desired  in  the  con¬ 
ditions  of  large  portions  of  our  labor  population, 
especially  of  the  women  and  children,  for  whom 
Pope  Leo  pleaded  with  a  special  tenderness  in  the 
words  we  have  already  quoted.  Referring  to  the 
laborer  himself  the  Holy  Father  wrote:  “  The 
first  concern  of  all  is  to  save  the  poor  workers 
from  the  cruelty  of  greedy  speculators,  who  use 
human  beings  as  mere  instruments  for  money¬ 
making.  It  is  neither  just  nor  human  so  to  grind 
men  down  with  excessive  labor  as  to  stupefy  their 
minds  and  wear  out  their  bodies.  Man’s  powers, 
like  his  general  nature,  are  limited,  and  beyond 
these  limits  he  cannot  go.  His  strength  is  de¬ 
veloped  and  increased  by  use  and  exercise,  but 
only  on  condition  of  due  intermission  and  proper 
rest.  Daily  labor,  therefore,  should  be  so  regu¬ 
lated  as  not  to  be  protracted  over  longer  hours 
than  strength  admits.”  {Ibid.) 

Again,  however,  there  is  the  strongest  contrast 
between  the  doctrine  of  the  Holy  Father  and  the 
agitation  carried  on  by  Socialism.  The  latter  is 
inspired  by  the  spirit  of  strife  and  hatred  and 


DUTIES  OF  LABOR  AND  CAPITAL  IO5 

lives  by  kindling  into  flame  the  passions  of  men. 
The  very  foundation  upon  which  its  entire  system 
rests  is  essentially  pagan  and  in  deadliest  opposi¬ 
tion  to  Christian  principles.  Pope  Leo  again 
writes : 

“  The  great  mistake  made  in  regard  to  the  mat¬ 
ter  now  under  consideration  is  to  take  up  with  the 
notion  that  class  is  naturally  hostile  to  class,  and 
that  the  wealthy  and  the  workingmen  are  intended 
by  nature  to  live  in  mutual  conflict.  So  irrational 
and  so  false  is  this  view  that  the  direct  contrary 
is  the  truth.  Each  needs  the  other;  capital  cannot 
do  without  labor,  nor  labor  without  capital. 
Mutual  agreement  results  in  pleasantness  of  life 
and  the  beauty  of  good  order;  while  perpetual  con¬ 
flict  necessarily  produces  confusion  and  savage 
barbarity.  Now,  in  preventing  such  strife  as  this, 
and  in  uprooting  it,  the  efficacy  of  Christian  in¬ 
stitutions  is  marvelous  and  manifold.  First  of  all, 
there  is  no  intermediary  more  powerful  than  re¬ 
ligion,  whereof  the  Church  is  the  interpreter  and 
guardian,  in  drawing  the  rich  and  the  poor  to¬ 
gether,  by  reminding  each  class  of  its  duties  to  the 
other,  and  especially  of  the  obligations  of  justice.” 
{Ibid.) 

Labor  has,  therefore,  duties  as  well  as  rights, 


IO 6  THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 

and  the  Socialist  tenet  that  the  worker  can  never 
be  wrong  is  the  merest  rant  of  demagogy,  which 
all  true  Christian  labor  will  indignantly  resent. 
It  is  the  principle  of  Socialism  to  urge  the  worker 
to  continue  in  his  warfare  with  the  employer,  no 
matter  what  concessions  may  have  already  been 
wrung  from  him,  regardless  of  justice  as  of  char¬ 
ity,  and  even  of  natural  prudence.  These  are  but 
the  natural  conclusions  of  the  Socialist  first  prin¬ 
ciple  of  the  essential  class  struggle,  making  all 
agreements  between  employer  and  employed  noth¬ 
ing  more  than  a  temporary  truce  in  the  course  of  a 
battle  which  must  be  waged  even  to  annihilation. 

The  institution  of  cooperative  industrial  enter¬ 
prises  on  the  part  of  labor,  remaining  purely  vol¬ 
untary,  as  advocated  years  ago  by  Bishop  Ketteler, 
is  entirely  different  from  the  Socialist  plan  and 
without  injustice  to  any  one.  The  real  Socialist 
revolution,  on  the  other  hand,  as  Marx  foretold, 
cannot  come  except  in  violence  and  blood,  leaving 
the  country  in  desolation  and  destroying  its  re¬ 
sources.  Socialism  has  not  been  opposed  to  force 
upon  any  other  ground  than  that  of  expediency. 
Very  different  is  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  as  ex¬ 
pressed  by  the  Sovereign  Pontiff : 


DUTIES  OF  LABOR  AND  CAPITAL  IO7 

“  Religion  teaches  the  laboring  man  and  the 
artisan  to  carry  out  honestly  and  fairly  all  equit¬ 
able  agreements  freely  entered  into;  never  to 
injure  the  property  nor  to  outrage  the  person  of 
an  employer;  never  to  resort  to  violence  in  defend¬ 
ing  their  own  cause,  nor  to  engage  in  riot  or  dis¬ 
order;  and  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  men  of  evil 
principles,  who  work  upon  the  people  with  artful 
promises,  and  excite  foolish  hopes  which  usually 
end  in  useless  regrets  and  the  loss  of  all  they 
possess.”  (Ibid.) 

No  less  clear  and  emphatic  are  the  admonitions 
addressed  to  the  employing  classes: 

“  Religion  teaches  the  wealthy  owner  and  the 
employer  that  their  work-people  are  not  to  be  ac¬ 
counted  their  slaves ;  that  in  every  man  they  must 
respect  his  dignity  and  worth  as  a  man  and  as  a 
Christian;  that  labor  is  not  a  thing  to  be  ashamed 
of,  if  we  lend  ear  to  right  reason  and  to  Christian 
philosophy,  but  is  an  honorable  calling,  enabling  a 
man  to  sustain  his  life  in  a  way  upright  and  credit¬ 
able;  and  that  it  is  shameful  and  inhuman  to  treat 
men  like  chattels  to  make  money  by,  or  to  look 
upon  them  merely  as  so  much  muscle  or  physical 
power. 


108  THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 

“  Furthermore,  the  employer  must  never  tax  his 
work-people  beyond  their  strength,  or  employ  them 
in  work  unsuited  to  their  sex  or  age. 

“  His  great  and  principal  duty  is  to  give  every 
one  a  fair  wage.  Doubtless  before  deciding 
whether  wages  are  adequate  many  things  have  to 
be  considered;  but  wealthy  owners  and  all  masters 
of  labor  should  be  mindful  of  this,  that  to  exercise 
pressure  upon  the  indigent  and  the  destitute  for 
the  sake  of  gain,  and  to  gather  one’s  profits  out  of 
the  need  of  another,  is  condemned  by  all  laws, 
human  and  divine.  To  defraud  any  one  of  wages 
that  are  his  due  is  a  crime  which  cries  to  the 
avenging  anger  of  Heaven.  ‘  Behold,  the  hire 
of  the  laborers  .  .  .  which  by  fraud  hath  been 
kept  back  by  you,  crieth  aloud;  and  the  cry  of  them 
hath  entered  into  the  ears  of  the  Lord  of 
Sabaoth.’  ”  {Ibid.) 

The  developments  of  the  future  no  man  can 
foretell.  But  one  fact  is  certain.  There  will  be 
no  peace  until  a  more  adequate  distribution  of 
ownership  can  be  made.  This,  as  we  constantly 
repeat,  is  the  key  to  the  situation,  and  upon  this 
Pope  Leo  has  insisted  in  dealing  with  the  question 
of  the  ownership  of  land.  The  laborer  should  not 
merely  live  from  hand  to  mouth,  but  so  far  as  pos- 


DUTIES  OF  LABOR  AND  CAPITAL  IO9 

sible,  should  have  capital  of  his  own  from  which 
he  can  dra^y  his  interest  or  dividend. 

But  even  then  it  will  be  an  illusion  to  hope  for  a 
final  settlement  and  a  mutual  understanding  and 
good  will  between  all  classes  except  through  the  in¬ 
fluence  of  religion,  the  influence  of  that  Church 
which  has  withstood  the  tempests,  political,  eco¬ 
nomic  and  military,  of  twenty  centuries. 

The  Church  has  conquered  every  obstacle,  and 
she  who  subdued  the  lascivious  Greek  and  haughty 
Roman,  who  converted  the  hordes  of  the  northern 
barbarians,  and  rolled  back  the  tides  of  the 
Moslem  invasion,  who  entered  under  the  tent  of 
the  Iroquois  and  planted  the  cross  in  a  thousand 
wildernesses,  will  likewise  be  able  to  renew  our 
modern  world  in  the  spirit  of  Christ.  “  There  is 
only  one  answer  to  this  question,”  were  the  words 
of  a  great  prelate.  “  If  the  Church  is  powerless 
here,  we  must  despair  of  ever  arriving  at  a  peace¬ 
ful  settlement  of  the  social  question.” 

But  the  Church  is  not  powerless.  Her  religion 
is  not  merely  passive,  as  her  enemies  pretend.  It 
is  an  active,  energizing  faith,  whose  influence  today 
is  most  strongly  felt  even  where  it  has  not  as  yet 
been  expressed  in  direct  social  action.  That  the 
time  has  come  for  her  to  enter  more  completely 


1 10 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


into  this  field  of  social  activity  no  one  can  for  a 
moment  doubt.  This  she  has  already  begun  to  do 
in  the  heroic  efforts  made  by  many  of  her  priests 
and  laity  who  are  answering  the  call  of  the  Su¬ 
preme  Pontiff  to  carry  on  her  social  apostolate 
in  the  spirit  of  Christ.  She  has  made  modern 
civilization,  giving  to  it  all  that  is  best  and  noblest 
in  its  possession  today.  She  will  seek  to  remake 
it  after  the  model  shown  her  upon  the  mount, 
now  that  it  has  been  so  sadly  defaced  by  capital¬ 
istic  greed  and  Socialistic  hate. 


CHAPTER  XI 


STRIKES  AND  TRADE  AGREEMENTS 

ASKED  before  witnesses  whether  he  thought 
that  ten  dollars  a  week  was  enough  for  a 
longshoreman,  J.  P.  Morgan  replied  that 
he  believed  it  was,  if  that  was  all  he  could  get  and 
took  it .  The  principle  here  laid  down  is  clear: 
u  Sufficient  wages,”  as  the  New  York  Socialist  Call 
has  briefly  summed  it  up,  “  are  all  that  the  work¬ 
ing  class  can  get.”  Radical  capitalism  applies  this 
principle  at  one  end  of  the  scale,  and  radical  So¬ 
cialism,  with  the  same  consistency,  applies  it  at  the 
other.  “  If  the  formula  is  good  for  a  longshore¬ 
man,  it  is  good  for  the  entire  labor  class,”  writes 
the  Socialist  organ.  “All  they  can  get!  And 
that  is  only  limited  by  what  they  produce.” 

Here  then  is  a  clear  and  concise  statement  of  a 
radical  principle  to  which  neither  Catholic  capi¬ 
talist  nor  Catholic  laborer  can  ever  subscribe.  It 
gives  in  a  nutshell  the  entire  kernel  of  the  labor 


hi 


1 12 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


and  strike  problems  in  as  far  as  they  have  become 
a  menace  to  the  world. 

In  the  mind  of  the  radical  capitalist  this  prin¬ 
ciple  means  that  the  laborer  need  be  given  no 
higher  wage  or  better  conditions  of  work  than 
economic  necessity,  fear  or  prudence  dictates: 
“  All  he  can  get.”  In  the  mind  of  the  radical 
workingman  it  means  that  there  is  no  limit  to  what 
he  may  demand,  short,  perhaps,  of  killing  the 
goose  that  lays  the  golden  eggs,  though  Socialism 
would  not  hesitate  at  that. 

The  labor  problem  thus  narrows  down  on  both 
sides  to  a  question  of  superior  force.  Strike  will 
follow  strike  on  the  part  of  the  laborer  as  long  as 
there  is  any  hope  of  another  penny  to  be  gained  by 
him:  “  All  he  can  get.”  Radical  capitalism  has 
long  ago  set  the  example  and  what  is  sauce  for  the 
goose  is  sauce  for  the  gander.  “  This  really  great 
man,”  the  Socialist  organ  says  ironically  of  J.  P. 
Morgan,  “  is  of  opinion  that  a  wage  worker  is 
justified  in  taking  all  he  can  get,  and  that,  when  he 
takes  it,  it  constitutes  sufficient  wages.  And  we 
are  decidedly  of  that  same  opinion  also.” 

What  happens  to  the  common  people  is  matter 
of  no  concern  either  to  liberalism  or  to  Socialism. 
The  principle  of  radical  capitalism  is  not  merely  to 


STRIKES  AND  TRADE  AGREEMENTS  1 13 

keep  its  wages  within  the  minimum  of  economic 
expediency  or  necessity  but  likewise  to  raise  its 
prices  to  the  maximum  of  economic  expediency 
or  possibility.  A  sufficient  profit  for  the  radical 
capitalist  as  well  as  a  sufficient  wage  for  the  radi¬ 
cal  laborer  is  defined  by  the  brief  formula :  “  All 

he  can  get.”  Public  sentiment  cannot  entirely  be 
ignored,  but  that  is  included  in  the  philosophy  of 
expediency,  fundamental  with  both  parties,  though 
often  they  may  overleap  their  mark!  Beyond 
this,  however,  the  public  good  is  not  consulted 
either  in  amassing  profits  by  watered  stocks  and 
exorbitant  prices  or  in  screwing  up  wages  by 
strikes  and  intimidation. 

It  would  be  pessimistic  and  unwarranted  to  say 
that  the  picture  here  given  describes  the  entire  sit¬ 
uation.  It  is  the  writer’s  conviction,  however, 
that  it  accurately  portrays  those  elements,  on  the 
part  of  capitalism  as  well  as  of  labor,  which  are 
the  real  menace  in  the  great  social  unrest  of  our 
day.  There  are  many  degrees  of  radicalism,  and 
those  who  consider  themselves  safely  removed 
from  either  liberalism  or  Socialism  are  often  more 
or  less  deeply  tinged  with  their  unholy  principles. 

In  contrast  with  the  views  of  radicalism,  the 
Catholic  social  doctrine  of  Christian  Democracy, 


1 14  THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 

gives  liberty  without  license  to  both  capital  and 
labor  and  so,  if  adhered  to,  will  remove  at  least 
all  unwarranted  labor  troubles,  though  it  would 
not  necessarily  abolish  strikes  altogether.  They 
were  not  unknown  in  the  Middle  Ages  when  the 
labor  problem  had  at  length  arisen  with  the  grow¬ 
ing  complexities  of  civilization,  and  the  journey¬ 
men’s  gilds  had  sprung  into  existence.  Many 
such  strikes  were  doubtless  due  to  the  violation  of 
Catholic  principles  by  Catholic  subjects,  but  it  is 
in  nowise  impossible  that  both  parties  to  a  strike 
may  have  been  fully  justified,  objectively  as  well 
as  subjectively. 

A  sufficient  wage,  according  to  the  Catholic 
ideal,  as  we  have  seen,  is  not  “  all  a  man  can  get,” 
provided  he  takes  it;  nor  all  a  man  can  take,  pro¬ 
vided  he  gets  it,  as  the  Socialist  version  might 
read ;  but  a  wage  which  can  decently  maintain  the 
laborer  in  frugal  comfort,  enabling  him  to  sup¬ 
port  his  family  in  as  far  as  they  rightly  depend 
upon  his  labors,  and  making  it  possible  for  him 
to  actualize  the  conception  of  a  true  Christian 
home. 

If  with  ten  dollars  a  week  a  longshoreman  can 
realize  this  ideal,  then  ten  dollars  a  week  is  suf¬ 
ficient  wage;  if  not,  then  ten  dollars  a  week  is 


STRIKES  AND  TRADE  AGREEMENTS  II5 

insufficient,  whether  he  takes  it  or  not.  There 
may  be  conditions,  it  is  true,  making  it  impossible, 
under  circumstances,  to  pay  this  wage.  To  these 
conditions  labor  and  capital  must  then  adapt  them¬ 
selves  to  the  best  of  their  power,  according  to  the 
law  of  Christian  charity  which  bids  us  to  do  unto 
others  as  we  would  have  them  do  unto  us. 

But  between  the  minimum  wage,  which  the  la¬ 
borer  will  rightly  seek  to  obtain  even  at  the  cost 
of  a  strike,  when  other  reasons  are  not  in  the 
way,  and  the  highly  variable  maximum  of  a  just 
wage  to  which  he  may  aspire,  there  lie,  we 
admit,  the  possibilities  of  strikes  that  may  be 
fully  justified  on  the  part  of  labor,  yet  to  which 
capital  is  not  in  justice  obliged  to  yield.  The 
laborer  who  is  not  defrauded  of  his  hire  may 
demand  a  wage  more  in  proportion  with  the  value 
of  his  labor  or  the  value  of  his  production. 

Similarly  he  may  seek  a  reasonable  reduction 
of  working  hours,  though  not  actually  employed 
under  oppressive  conditions  of  labor.  These  de¬ 
mands  may  not  unjustly  be  enforced  by  him,  pro¬ 
vided  that  neither  the  rights  of  others  nor  the 
demands  of  charity  are  violated;  but  in  all  cases 
conciliation  and  arbitration  are,  so  far  as  possible, 
to  be  used.  A  strike  should  be  the  last  resort. 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


II 6 

Thus,  by  the  sound  ethics  of  Christian  Democ¬ 
racy,  full  justice  is  provided  within  the  Church 
for  both  labor  and  capital  while  ample  liberty  is 
accorded  to  both,  yet  of  neither  is  it  simply  true 
that  they  may  have  “  all  they  can  get.”  The 
adoption  of  this  principle  by  capitalistic  liberalism 
no  less  than  by  Socialism  is  the  main  cause  of 
our  vast  social  discontent  and  has  girded  the  earth 
with  labor  wars  to  which  there  is  no  end.  “  All 
we  can  get  ”  is  the  legend  written  alike  upon  the 
banners  of  both  these  belligerent  armies,  and  the 
interests  of  neutrals  are  of  no  concern  to  them. 
Godlessness  is  at  the  heart  of  all  such  demands, 
godlessness  which  means  anarchy  in  the  moral 
order,  and  this  same  anarchy  is  bound  soon  to 
spread  into  the  social  and  economic  world  as  well. 

But  what  if  the  interruption  of  work,  brought 
about  by  a  strike,  seriously  interferes  with  the 
public  good  as  in  the  strikes  of  railroad  employees 
or  of  those  entrusted  with  the  necessary  provision¬ 
ing  of  a  city?  Clearly  it  is  then  the  duty  of  the 
State  to  do  what  lies  in  its  power  to  avert  the  dis¬ 
aster,  for  it  has  the  obligation  as  well  as  the  au¬ 
thority  to  safeguard  the  common  good.  Indeed  it 
is  the  duty  of  the  State  in  all  circumstances  to  seek 
to  remove  occasions  that  may  lead  to  strikes.  On 


STRIKES  AND  TRADE  AGREEMENTS  H7 

this  subject  Pope  Leo  XIII  wrote  in  his  Encyclical 
on  “  The  Condition  of  Labor  ” : 


When  work-people  have  recourse  to  a  strike,  it  is  frequently 
because  the  hours  of  labor  are  too  long,  or  the  work  is  too  hard, 
or  because  they  consider  their  wages  insufficient.  The  grave  in¬ 
convenience  of  this  not  uncommon  occurrence  should  be  obvi¬ 
ated  by  public  remedial  measures;  for  such  paralyzing  of  labor 
not  only  affects  the  masters  and  their  work-people  alike,  but  it 
is  extremely  injurious  to  trade  and  to  the  general  interests  of  the 
public.  Moreover  on  such  occasions  violence  and  disorder  are 
generally  not  far  distant,  and  thus  it  frequently  happens  that 
the  public  peace  is  imperiled.  The  laws  should  forestall  and 
prevent  such  troubles  from  arising,  they  should  lend  their  in¬ 
fluence  and  authority  to  the  removal  in  good  time  of  the  causes 
which  lead  to  conflicts  between  employers  and  employed. 

The  Church  does  not  encourage  strikes,  but  per¬ 
mits  them  in  a  just  cause  when  no  other  solution 
can  be  found  and  justice  and  charity  are  duly  pre¬ 
served.  Conciliation  and  arbitration  are  the 
natural  means  to  be  suggested  in  their  stead. 
Boards  for  this  purpose  may  be  freely  appointed 
by  capital  and  labor,  or  may  be  constituted  of  rep¬ 
resentatives  of  capital,  labor  and  the  State.  In 
cases  where  the  common  welfare  is  seriously 
threatened,  moral  coercion  should  at  first  be  used, 
and  if  this  is  unavailing  legal  coercion  may  become 
a  necessity. 

The  laborer’s  right  to  organize,  and  his  right 
to  strike  when  circumstances  justify  such  action, 


I  I  8  THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 

and  there  is  reasonable  hope  of  success,  are  not 
to  be  questioned.  At  the  same  time  we  must 
remember  that  there  are  likewise  undoubted  rights 
that  belong  to  the  public  at  large,  and  which 
may  not  be  wantonly  infringed  upon  by  either 
capital  or  labor.  Both  parties,  therefore,  must 
be  given  opportunities  of  obtaining  justice  with¬ 
out  imperiling  the  rights  and  lives  of  citizens. 
Where  these  opportunities  are  not  accepted  by 
either  capital  or  labor,  public  necessity  may  de¬ 
mand  that  legal  action  be  taken  to  enforce  a  set¬ 
tlement.  Recourse  to  the  barbaric  method  of 
throttling  and  starving  the  public  in  order  to  ob¬ 
tain  a  private  end  must  be  banished  forever  from 
civilized  and  Christian  life,  and  other  methods  of 
securing  impartial  justice  be  applied.  Yet  justice 
must  be  secured  to  the  laborer  with  the  same  care 
that  the  rights  of  property  are  safeguarded. 

The  authority  ot  the  State  is  finally  to  be  in¬ 
voked  to  restrain  all  disturbers  of  the  public  peace. 
Freedom  of  speech  does  not  guarantee  the  right 
of  preaching  sedition  and  revolution.  Freedom 
of  the  press  does  not  signify  the  right  of  teaching 
confiscation  or  inciting  men  to  tumult  and  violence. 
We  must  learn  to  distinguish  between  liberty  and 
license. 


STRIKES  AND  TRADE  AGREEMENTS  II9 

The  rights  of  all  parties,  therefore,  must  be 
duly  protected  and  defended  by  the  State,  without 
discrimination  of  person.  But  where  private 
rights  conflict  with  the  common  good,  the  latter 
must  be  given  precedence.  Capital  and  labor, 
if  animated  by  the  true  spirit  of  Christian  Democ¬ 
racy,  will  of  their  own  accord  hold  to  this  prin¬ 
ciple,  as  did  the  gilds  of  the  Ages  of  Faith.  It 
was  the  sign  of  their  decline  when  they  promoted 
their  own  interests  at  the  cost  of  the  general  wel¬ 
fare  or  sought  it  at  the  price  of  injustice  to  any 
man  or  even  at  the  forfeit  of  that  Christian  charity 
which  alone  can  maintain  the  structure  of  society 
in  all  its  beauty  and  perfection. 

A  strong  argument  for  the  possibility  of  a 
sound  industrial  peace  is  found  in  the  almost  uni¬ 
versal  favor  with  which  the  peace  plans,  estab¬ 
lished  at  the  instance  of  the  United  States  Gov¬ 
ernment  between  the  representatives  of  capital, 
labor  and  the  public  for  the  duration  of  the  world 
war,  met  on  every  hand.  “  No  one,  not  fanati¬ 
cally  irreconcilable,”  said  the  Bricklayers* ,  Masons* 
and  Plasterers *  Journal ,  in  commenting  on  the 
work  of  the  labor  board,  “  can  find  fault  with  it. 
Under  its  terms  neither  capital  nor  labor  can 
claim  any  advantage  in  the  principles  and  policies 


120 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


laid  down  by  it.”  The  existing  standards  of  all 
parties  were  protected: 

“  Although  labor  foregoes  its  right  to  strike,  its  right  to  organ¬ 
ize  and  treat  collectively  is  affirmed,  and  where  union  conditions 
exist  there  is  no  modification  of  them.  The  right  of  all  workers 
to  a  wage  insuring  the  subsistence  of  themselves  and  their  fam¬ 
ilies  in  health  and  reasonable  comfort  is  declared,  and  there  is 
no  sex-distinction  as  to  wages.  The  public,  the  third  great 
party  to  the  agreement,  is  assured  of  a  maximum  production 
of  all  war  necessities,  both  on  the  part  of  employers  and  em¬ 
ployees,  without  artificial  increase  of  cost.” 

The  agreement  did  not  imply  the  end  of  indus¬ 
trial  disputes,  as  the  journal  remarks;  but  it  estab¬ 
lished  a  means  of  at  once  progressing  towards 
their  peaceful  settlement  through  mediation. 
Should  such  methods  fail  the  agreement  further 
provided  that  the  final  decision  was  to  be  made  by 
an  umpire  chosen  by  lot  from  a  list  of  ten  names 
selected  by  President  Wilson.  Why  should  not 
similar  methods  be  successful  in  time  of  peace  to 
the  lasting  exclusion  of  strikes  and  lockouts,  to¬ 
gether  with  all  the  bitterness  they  generate,  the  un¬ 
happiness  and  misery  they  cause,  the  harm  they 
inflict  upon  production,  and  the  suffering  they  bring 
upon  the  innocent  public? 

That  the  possibility  of  a  durable  industrial  peace 
through  similar  means  is  no  idle  utopian  dream 
can  readily  be  demonstrated  by  the  success  of  the 


STRIKES  AND  TRADE  AGREEMENTS  12 1 

voluntary  arbitration  plan  in  the  stove-molding 
industry.  The  trade-agreement  drawn  up  in  good 
faith  by  the  representatives  of  the  union  and  of 
the  employers’  Defense  Association,  during  a 
period  of  industrial  conflict,  was  each  year  read¬ 
justed  in  a  joint  conference  of  three  union  men  and 
three  delegates  of  the  employers’  association. 
The  lasting  peace  thus  established  had  continued 
unbroken  for  more  than  twenty-five  years  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  war.  Why,  then,  could  not  simi¬ 
lar  plans  be  followed  in  all  industries,  not  forget¬ 
ting  the  interests  of  the  general  public?  The 
tendency  towards  trade-agreements  is  the  new  and 
hopeful  spirit  in  the  labor  movement.  All  the 
best  powers  of  Christian  laborers  and  employers 
should  be  devoted  to  its  future  development. 

A  new  era  of  cooperation  between  the  State,  the 
trade  union  and  the  employers’  organizations  is 
opening.  But  we  must  not  forget  that  religion 
is  no  less  indispensable  in  the  relationship  between 
trade  unions  and  employers’  associations,  than  in 
the  dealings  between  individual  employers  and 
workers.  Nor  can  the  intervention  of  any  State 
authority  or  works  committee  insure  industrial 
peace  and  the  reign  of  justice  and  charity,  in 
which  the  interests  of  the  public  likewise  will  be 


i 


122 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


safely  guarded,  unless  religion  is  the  guiding  prin¬ 
ciple  not  merely  of  individuals  but  of  trade  unions 
and  employers’  associations,  and  of  the  State  it¬ 
self,  which  seeks  to  hold  the  even  balance  of  jus¬ 
tice.  Religion  alone  can  surely  bring  about  the 
reign  of  universal  brotherhood. 


CHAPTER  XII 


THE  SYMPATHETIC  STRIKE 


M 


ODERN  labor  troubles,  when  of  un¬ 
usual  extension,  have  often  brought 
the  sympathetic  strike  into  prominence. 


The  term  itself  is  sufficiently  descriptive  and 
hardly  calls  for  any  definition.  A  sympathetic 
strike  is  declared  when  laborers,  without  personal 
cause  against  their  employer,  suspend  work  in  ap¬ 
proval  and  support  of  other  workers  who  are 
striking.  The  fact  that  no  personal  grievance 
exists,  naturally  prompts  us  to  ask  in  how  far 
such  a  strike  can  be  justified.  The  answer  can 
best  be  given  by  means  of  a  few  practical  illus¬ 
trations. 

A  strike,  we  shall  suppose,  has  been  declared  in 
one  of  the  various  branches  of  labor  controlled 
by  a  single  large  firm.  It  is  a  strike  waged  in 
self-defense  against  real  and  not  against  fancied 
injustice  on  the  part  of  the  employers.  The  men 

are  needlessly  overburdened,  or  they  are  compelled 

123 


124 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


to  labor  on  the  Lord’s  Day  without  strict  neces¬ 
sity,  or  they  have  arbitrarily  been  refused  a  wage 
sufficient  to  support  themselves  and  their  families 
as  far  as  right  reason  demands.  In  this  instance 
there  is  no  question  of  mere  betterment  of  condi¬ 
tions  which  are  reasonably  good,  or  of  a  farther 
increase  in  wages  that  are  already  adequate,  under 
circumstances  when  both  parties  might  be  right  in 
maintaining  their  positions,  the  laborers  in  de¬ 
manding  a  fuller,  though  not  excessive,  share  in 
the  profits,  and  the  employers  in  contenting  them¬ 
selves  with  fulfilling  strict  obligations.  Such  a 
strike  might  be  entirely  justified.  However,  we 
are  not  concerned  with  such  conditions,  but  rather 
with  a  strike  in  simple  defense.  The  laborers,  we 
suppose,  have  tried  all  other  means  of  redress  in 
vain,  and  industrial  war  has  been  declared  as  the 
last  resort,  with  reasonable  hopes  of  success. 

Clearly  these  men  are  deserving  of  all  possible 
support  that  can  rightfully  be  given  them.  They 
have  failed  to  receive  justice  at  the  hands  of  their 
employers,  the  State  has  equally  failed  to  come 
to  their  assistance  or  has  been  impotent  to  aid 
them,  nothing  therefore  remains  but  the  weapon 
of  the  strike.  As  the  strike  proceeds  appeal  is 
made  by  the  workmen  to  their  fellow-laborers  in 


THE  SYMPATHETIC  STRIKE 


125 


other  departments  of  the  same  firm.  Though 
justly  treated,  these  employees  are  not  indifferent 
to  the  struggle  of  their  less  fortunate  fellows. 
Representations  are  made  by  them  to  the  firm,  but 
without  effect,  and  a  sympathetic  strike  is  at  last 
declared  against  the  common  employers.  Is  the 
strike  justified? 

No  personal  grievance  is  alleged  by  these  latter 
artisans,  but  their  continuance  at  work  would  help 
the  firm  to  pursue  its  course  of  injustice  towards 
the  oppressed  section  of  employees.  Clearly 
there  are  no  obligations  arising  from  the  nature  of 
the  case  to  bind  those  who  entered  upon  the  sym¬ 
pathetic  strike  to  labor  under  the  stated  conditions. 
Their  interference  on  the  side  of  their  weaker 
brethren  is  entirely  reasonable  and  their  sym¬ 
pathetic  strike  is  justified.  The  firm  has  equiva¬ 
lently  made  itself  the  unjust  aggressor  by  enslav¬ 
ing  a  section  of  its  men,  forced  by  poverty  to  ac¬ 
cept  a  contract  which  in  itself  is  null  and  void,  and 
the  sympathetic  strikers  have  come  to  the  rescue. 
It  is  on  this  same  principle  that  all  righteous  in¬ 
terference  in  the  cause  of  the  oppressed  is  justified. 

In  the  preceding  case  the  sympathetic  strike  was 
against  the  offending  firm  against  which  the  orig¬ 
inal  strike  had  been  declared.  A  new  supposition 


126 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


must  now  be  made  in  which  the  oppressed  workers 
appeal  for  help,  not  to  the  men  in  different 
branches  of  the  same  firm,  but  to  laborers  under 
an  entirely  different  employer.  The  latter  has 
been  just  to  his  men  but  is  unintentionally  assist¬ 
ing  the  unjust  firm  in  its  oppressive  methods 
by  continuing  to  extend  his  patronage  to  them 
after  the  strike  has  been  declared.  Are  his  em¬ 
ployees  justified  in  declaring  a  sympathetic  strike 
against  him,  unless  these  business  relations  are 
interrupted? 

The  answer  is  that  ordinarily  workmen  are  not 
justified  in  such  a  course.  They  cannot  oblige 
their  employer  to  discontinue  his  purchases,  which 
he  finds  suitable  and  advantageous,  in  order  that 
he  may  help  to  bring  about  the  defeat  of  the  un¬ 
just  firm.  Yet  circumstances  can  arise  which  may 
make  such  a  strike  righteous.  But  it  is  impossible 
to  lay  down  one  principle  that  would  cover  all  cir¬ 
cumstances.  Each  case  must  be  investigated  and 
judged  on  its  merits. 

If  justification  can  rarely  be  found  for  the  lat¬ 
ter  form  of  the  sympathetic  strike,  it  will  be  far 
more  difficult  to  find  it  for  the  extreme  case  in 
which  a  sympathetic  strike  is  forced  against  em¬ 
ployers  who  are  in  nowise  connected  with  the  un- 


THE  SYMPATHETIC  STRIKE  1 27 

just  firm.  Such  a  course  would  inflict  the  greatest 
loss  and  hardship  upon  entirely  innocent  em¬ 
ployers  who  have  no  means  of  conciliating  their 
men  since  the  latter  are  suffering  no  wrongs.  The 
unoffending  public  suffers  equally  with  the  em¬ 
ployers  and  the  strikers’  families  bear  perhaps  the 
heaviest  burden  of  the  misery  and  woe  entailed. 

The  harm  thus  inflicted  upon  countless  helpless 
and  innocent  sufferers  is  likely  to  be  out  of  all  pro¬ 
portion  to  the  good  that  can  be  gained.  Nor  may 
we  overlook  the  moral  evils  that  are  certain  to 
follow  and  the  radicalism  that  runs  riot  on  such 
occasions  and  embitters  the  hearts  of  men  for 
years  to  come,  and  perhaps  throughout  a  lifetime. 
When  such  a  strike  is  general,  as  in  principle  it 
must  always  be  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  since 
the  reason  of  striking  against  one  innocent  em¬ 
ployer  holds  good  for  all,  we  are  then  faced  with 
one  of  the  most  extreme  issues  that  can  develop 
in  labor  conflicts. 

It  may  be  well  to  quote  authorities  upon  this 
subject.  Dr.  John  A.  Ryan,  dealing  with  the 
question  in  the  various  aspects  considered  here, 
says  of  the  general  sympathetic  strike:  “  While 
we  cannot  be  certain  that  a  general  strike  is  never 
justified,  we  can  safely  say  that  there  is  against  it 


128 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


an  overwhelming  presumption.”  Father  Henry 
Koch,  S.J.,  a  leading  economic  authority  in  Ger¬ 
many,  expressed  himself  in  even  stronger  terms, 
though  the  strike  he  evidently  has  in  mind  is  the 
political  and  not  the  sympathetic  strike.  “  Be¬ 
cause  of  the  great  danger,”  he  says,  “  which  in  a 
general  strike  threatens  the  entire  people  as  well 
as  the  State  itself,  this  form  of  strike  appears  to 
be  altogether  objectionable  from  the  standpoint  of 
morality.” 

If  we  recall  with  what  deep  concern  Pope  Leo 
XIII  spoke  of  the  dangers  attending  even  the  or¬ 
dinary  strike,  we  shall  not  hurriedly  justify  so 
terrible  a  state  of  internecine  war  as  the  general 
strike,  an  industrial  conflict  destructive  of  the 
spiritual  no  less  than  of  the  temporal  welfare  of 
men. 

The  evil  to  be  feared  in  a  general  strike  is  there¬ 
fore  beyond  calculation  and  the  good  to  be  ob¬ 
tained  would  have  to  be  no  less  great  in  propor¬ 
tion.  Yet,  nevertheless,  many  would  doubtless 
hesitate  to  say  that  a  justification  can  never,  under 
any  circumstances,  be  found  for  the  general  sym¬ 
pathetic  strike.  Naturally,  the  less  serious  the 
foreseen  consequences,  the  less  grave  likewise 


THE  SYMPATHETIC  STRIKE  1 29 

would  be  the  objections  against  it,  but  these  can 
never  be  treated  lightly. 

The  most  menacing  danger  of  our  day  is  that 
men  do  not  weigh  moral  reason,  but  only  the 
chances  of  success.  To  the  liberalistic  view  suf¬ 
ficiently  common  in  the  capitalism  of  our  day, 
correspond  the  deep  strains  of  radicalism  prom¬ 
inent  in  the  labor  movement.  The  State  must 
therefore  do  what  lies  in  its  power  to  prevent  the 
calamity  of  a  general  strike  by  seeking  to  secure 
justice  for  labor  and  capital  alike.  There  is  one 
factor  that  can  be  of  assistance  here,  and  that  is 
the  Church.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  State  there¬ 
fore  to  cooperate  to  the  best  of  its  ability  with 
her  efforts  for  mankind.  Here  is  the  true  solu¬ 
tion  of  the  difficulties  that  beset  us. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  UNEMPLOYMENT 


S  lack  of  laborers  is  one  of  the  great 
problems  of  war,  so  unemployment  has 


been  the  constantly  recurring  difficulty 
in  times  of  peace.  Congresses,  legislatures,  and 
popular  conventions  of  every  kind  have  been  en¬ 
gaged  with  it.  Mass  meetings,  organized  parades 
and  monster  demonstrations  have,  from  time  to 
time,  given  public  expression  to  the  dissatisfaction 
of  the  multitudes  of  the  unemployed.  Neither 
have  revolutionists  failed  to  avail  themselves  of 
the  opportunities  thus  offered  to  arouse  still  further 
discontent.  But  deepest  of  all,  perhaps,  was  the 
distress  of  those  who  bore  their  misery  in  silence. 

The  problem  of  unemployment  is  not  to  be 
solved  in  a  day.  Nor  can  it  be  met  by  the  simple 
erection  of  labor  bureaus,  municipal  or  otherwise. 
It  has  been  amply  studied  and  discussed  in  Europe 
for  decades  of  years  and  still  remains  a  “  prob- 


130 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  UNEMPLOYMENT  131 

lem.”  The  most  varied  measures  of  relief  and 
prevention  have  long  been  tried  in  Belgium,  Ger¬ 
many,  Great  Britain,  France,  Norway,  Denmark, 
Switzerland,  Austria,  Hungary,  Holland,  Sweden, 
and  other  lands. 

Before  attempting  a  solution  it  is  necessary  to 
distinguish  carefully  between  the  various  classes 
of  the  unemployed.  The  confusion  existing  in 
much  of  our  literature  upon  this  subject  is  largely 
due  to  a  neglect  of  this  precaution.  There  are  in 
the  first  place  the  old,  infirm  or  defective,  who, 
though  perhaps  seeking  work  to  avoid  public  char¬ 
ity  or  to  ward  off  starvation,  should  be  separately 
classed  and  separately  provided  for.  There  are, 
secondly,  the  professional  vagrants,  who  must  be 
forced  to  work  by  public  authority,  if  this  be  neces¬ 
sary  for  the  common  good.  There  are  next  the 
revolutionary  agitators  who  shirk  all  labor  by  pro¬ 
claiming  that  they  will  accept  it  only  upon  their 
own  terms  or  else  proclaim  war  upon  society. 
Farm  labor  or  snow  shoveling,  the  I.  W.  W. 
church-stormers  of  New  York  declared,  were  be¬ 
neath  their  dignity  at  any  wage.  They  would 
fight  for  their  bread  rather  than  earn  it  in  such 
wise.  Municipal  relief  they  equally  refused 
to  accept.  This  class  can  be  of  interest  only  to 


i32 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


the  criminologist  and  the  police.  The  economist 
is  not  concerned  with  them. 

There  are,  finally,  those  who  are  able  and  will¬ 
ing  to  accept  work,  but  seek  for  it  in  vain.  Their 
number  is  often  very  great  and  their  misery  ex¬ 
treme.  With  them  alone  we  are  concerned. 
Statistics  can  be  obtained  only  with  the  greatest 
difficulty.  Even  in  Germany  before  the  war,  with 
all  its  systematic  precision  in  such  matters,  unem¬ 
ployment  statistics  were  still  so  imperfect  that  no 
safe  deductions  could  be  made.  The  condition 
of  the  skilled  craftsmen,  who  are  best  organized 
and  best  salaried,  is  easily  learned;  but  it  is  not 
so  easy  to  learn  the  needs  of  the  vast  and  con¬ 
stantly  shifting  army  of  unskilled  laborers. 

The  first  and  apparently  most  obvious  solution 
of  the  problem  of  unemployment  is  that  of  public 
relief  work.  The  theory  regarding  it  has  seldom 
been  more  perfectly  developed  than  by  Dr.  Treub, 
Dutch  Minister  of  Industry  and  Commerce,  in  his 
report  to  the  First  International  Unemployment 
Congress,  held  at  Ghent,  in  September,  1913. 
We  give  the  summary  of  his  recommendations: 

1.  That  public  bodies  should  as  far  as  possible  defer  their 
undertakings  to  slack  seasons  or  years  of  depression. 

2.  That  reserve  funds  be  maintained  for  this  purpose. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  UNEMPLOYMENT  133 


3.  That  permanent  commissions  be  created  in  every  State  to 
study  economic  crises  and  to  advise  public  bodies  as  to  the 
probable  recurrence  of  dull  seasons. 

4.  That  public  bodies  undertake  more  frequently  than  is  now 
the  case,  the  draining  of  marshes,  the  reclamation  of  desert 
lands,  afforestation,  the  improvement  of  roads,  etc.,  with  a  view 
to  furnishing  employment  that  might  carry  the  unemployed 
through  periods  of  depression.  {Survey,  Feb.  28,  1914.) 

The  plan  thus  presented  In  its  most  feasible 
form  has  much  to  recommend  it.  Nevertheless, 
the  entire  system  of  relief  work  was  greatly  dis¬ 
credited  in  certain  circles,  owing  to  the  failure  of 
the  Public  Works  Act  in  England.  The  argu¬ 
ments  against  it,  as  drawn  from  the  English  ex¬ 
periment,  were  thus  urged  by  the  English  dele¬ 
gates  to  the  same  congress: 

Their  experience  under  the  Public  Works  Act,  they  said  in 
substance,  had  been  most  discouraging.  The  opening  of  arti¬ 
ficial  relief  works  had  been  very  costly  to  the  public  and  has 
actually  increased  the  number  of  the  unemployed.  Public  of¬ 
ficials  had  been  prone  to  curry  popular  favor  by  starting  such 
enterprises,  and  men  were  attracted  from  legitimate  employ¬ 
ment,  such  as  agriculture,  for  example,  and  congregated  in  these 
demoralizing  centers.  {Ibid.) 

These  objections  deserve  careful  consideration. 
They  must  not,  however,  be  taken  as  a  final 
condemnation  of  the  entire  system  in  every  re¬ 
spect.  “  Not  in  a  day,”  writes  the  Outlook,  “  can 
the  problem  be  solved  that  Pericles  tried  to  meet 
in  Athens  of  old  by  the  plan  of  public  works  — 


*34 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


that  ancient  plan  that  has  failed  down  the  cen¬ 
turies  whenever  tried.”  Such  a  condemnation  is 
too  sweeping.  The  Dutch  and  Belgian  delegates 
wisely  pleaded  for  patience.  The  system  of  re¬ 
lief  works  alone  is  not  sufficient.  But  it  may  be 
of  service  in  conjunction  with  other  methods,  pro¬ 
vided  it  is  applied  prudently.  At  all  events  the 
final  word  has  not  yet  been  spoken. 

A  somewhat  similar  plan  was  favorably  re¬ 
ceived  by  the  Third  German  Christian  Working¬ 
men’s  Congress.  They,  moreover,  stressed  in 
this  connection  the  duty  of  employers’  organiza¬ 
tions  and  federations  to  do  everything  in  their 
power  to  give  greater  steadiness  to  the  labor 
market.  This  last  idea  was,  likewise,  vaguely 
contained  in  the  recommendations  drawn  up  by 
our  own  National  Cooper  Union  Conference.  It 
sought  in  particular  to  direct  public  attention  and 
action  towards  “  Regularization  of  industry  — 
seasonal  industries,  dovetailing  of  industries,  ad¬ 
justment  of  large  contracts  to  run  long  periods, 
casual  labor,  civil  service  methods.” 

The  great  danger  in  public  relief  work  is  the 
injection  of  politics.  This  last  reason  may  like¬ 
wise  account  for  the  high  wages  which  are  often 
paid  and  which  consequently  withdraw  men  from 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  UNEMPLOYMENT  1 35 

regular  industries  and  seriously  overcrowd  a  given 
locality.  An  experiment  recently  made  in  our 
own  country  so  deluged  the  city  which  offered 
work  that  a  new  and  very  serious  problem  pre¬ 
sented  itself.  It  was  met  by  reducing  wages  on 
the  public  works.  We  must  be  both  kind  and 
prudent.  Unfortunately  the  altruism  required  for 
such  an  attitude  often  lies  far  beyond  the  horizon 
of  the  local  politician. 

Besides  the  system  of  public  relief  works,  two 
other  methods  are  to-day  receiving  the  most  care¬ 
ful  attention :  the  systems  of  labor  bureaus  and  of 
unemployment  insurance. 

Labor  bureaus  were  conducted  successfully  in 
the  Middle  Ages.  In  the  fifteenth  century  they 
received  a  scientific  development  when  the  modern 
labor  question  first  arose  in  a  serious  way,  al¬ 
though  under  conditions  very  different  from  the 
present.  With  the  passing  away  of  the  gilds  and 
the  progress  of  the  Reformation  the  public  con¬ 
science  became  heedless  of  the  interests  of  the 
constantly  increasing  population  of  wage-earners. 
During  recent  years  the  system  of  labor  exchanges 
has  been  revived  in  various  ways. 

The  danger  of  irresponsible  agencies,  without 
any  supervision,  conducted  for  purely  commercial 


136  THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 

reasons,  is  evident  even  to  the  merest  novice  in 
social  science.  Profit  is  naturally  the  sole  rea¬ 
son  for  their  existence.  They  can  be  made  the 
means  of  exploitation  and  even  lend  themselves 
to  worse  abuses.  Immigrant  girls  have  been  cun¬ 
ningly  enticed  into  houses  of  evil  fame  under  pre¬ 
tense  of  obtaining  a  respectable  position.  Immi¬ 
grants  in  general  readily  fall  a  prey,  in  this  as 
in  other  ways,  to  the  harpies  who  lie  in  wait  for 
them  to  snatch  away  their  meager  savings.  An 
indiscriminate  condemnation  of  private  labor 
bureaus  and  similar  agencies  is  not  intended  here, 
but  the  duty  of  vigilance  should  be  brought  home. 

Free  municipal  and  state  employment  ex¬ 
changes,  when  not  under  political  control,  may 
often  be  a  great  blessing.  In  this,  as  in  other 
things,  however,  the  State  should  not  take  upon 
itself  more  than  is  necessary.  It  should  not  at¬ 
tempt  to  exercise  a  monopoly.  Self-help  is  the  first 
principle  to  be  insisted  upon,  in  contradiction  to 
modern  socialistic  tendencies.  Only  where  the 
citizen  cannot  help  himself  must  the  State  come  to 
his  assistance.  Even  here  the  purpose  should 
wisely  be  “  to  help  others  to  help  themselves.” 

Free  public  labor  bureaus  can  readily  be  abused 
by  being  made  a  mere  political  machine.  On  the 


1  HE  PROBLEM  OF  UNEMPLOYMENT  137 

other  hand,  they  have  failed  at  times  because  in¬ 
sufficiently  supplied  with  means.  Properly  con¬ 
ducted  they  have  the  great  advantage  of  procur¬ 
ing  labor  for  the  men  who  stand  most  in  need  of 
it,  the  penniless  wage-workers.  Free  bureaus 
under  the  auspices  of  charitable  associations  serve 
the  same  useful  purpose.  Labor  unions,  on  the 
other  hand,  naturally  restrict  themselves  to  pro¬ 
curing  work  for  their  own  members.  At  all 
events,  we  must  not  attribute  to  the  State  an  ex¬ 
clusive  right  in  the  question  of  unemployment. 

Private  institutions,  however,  are  inadequate  to 
cope  satisfactorily  with  the  question  of  unemploy¬ 
ment  when  it  becomes  nation-wide  in  times  of 
public  distress.  To  handle  intelligently  this  great 
problem  it  is  necessary  to  have  a  national  survey 
of  the  labor  situation.  Many  desire  to  proceed 
farther  and  nationalize  the  entire  system  of  em¬ 
ployment  bureaus.  The  following  was  the  recom¬ 
mendation  made  by  two  prominent  experts  at  the 
First  International  Unemployment  Congress: 

That  this  method  of  preventing  unemployment  [i.  e.,  by  em¬ 
ployment  bureaus]  be  organized  on  a  national  scale,  by  towns 
and  provinces,  so  that  employers  needing  laborers  and  workmen 
out  of  employment  might  be  brought  together  with  the  least  pos¬ 
sible  waste  of  time  and  money;  that  men  be  assisted  to  move 
to  the  neighborhoods  where  their  labor  was  in  demand. 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


133 

As  a  somewhat  free  application  of  this  principle 
to  American  conditions  the  National  Unemploy¬ 
ment  Conference  passed  the  resolution  of  utiliz¬ 
ing  for  this  purpose  the  Federal  Department  of 
Labor. 

Resolved,  That  this  Conference  urge  the  establishment  in  the 
Federal  Department  of  Labor  of  a  Bureau  of  Distribution,  with 
power  to  establish  employment  exchanges  throughout  the  country 
to  supplement  the  work  now  being  done  by  State  and  municipal 
bureaus,  to  act  as  a  clearing  house  of  information  and  further 
the  distribution  of  labor  throughout  the  country;  when  such  dis¬ 
tribution  will  not  make  for  the  deterioration  of  the  present  stand¬ 
ards  of  wages,  conditions,  and  hours  of  employment  of  Amer¬ 
ican  workers,  or  the  impairment  of  their  efforts  to  improve  them. 


These  recommendations  and  resolutions  indi¬ 
cate  at  least  the  modern  trend  of  thought.  Evi¬ 
dently  there  may  be  danger  of  exaggeration  and 
unnecessary  accumulation  of  national  expenses  in 
such  movements,  yet  an  intelligent  cooperation  of 
the  national  labor  department  with  the  State, 
municipal,  and  private  bureaus  is  in  itself  highly 
desirable. 

The  need  of  national  bureaus  of  information 
in  the  harbor  cities  in  order  wisely  to  direct  the 
vast  numbers  of  immigrants  streaming  through 
our  gates  seems  to  be  especially  urgent.  An  ex¬ 
ceedingly  great  proportion  of  these  new  arrivals 
come  to  America  from  the  farmlands  of  Europe. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  UNEMPLOYMENT  1 39 

Instead  of  spreading  over  the  broad  areas  of 
arable  soil,  which  the  country  has  to  offer,  they 
huddle  together  in  the  large  cities.  Thus,  whereas 
they  might  bring  with  them  a  blessing  to  civiliza¬ 
tion,  they  often  become  a  burden,  and  at  times 
even  a  curse.  This  is  especially  true  when  they 
fall  under  the  influence  of  radical  agitators  con¬ 
stantly  seeking  to  make  of  them  the  nucleus  of 
their  projected  revolution.  The  main  object  of 
national  information  bureaus  would  be  to  aid  in 
distributing  such  immigrants  most  advantageously 
over  our  great  and  often  poorly  cultivated  farm¬ 
lands.  Their  transportation  will,  of  course,  af¬ 
ford  a  new  problem. 

The  Catholic  Church  herself  has  a  serious  duty 
here.  It  is  necessary,  as  far  as  possible,  to  direct 
these  men  to  localities  where  the  benefit  of  spir¬ 
itual  guidance  and  the  blessing  of  the  sacraments 
may  be  accorded  to  them.  This  is  particularly 
the  case  where  immigrants  are  directed  to  settle 
upon  the  land.  In  such  cases  churches  are  often 
rare.  Yet  unless  some  provision  is  made  for 
them  they  will  be  lost  to  the  Faith  in  great  num¬ 
bers.  This  has  been  the  bitter  experience  of  the 
past.  Fortunately  this  serious  problem  has  not 
been  overlooked,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  every 


140 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


assistance  will  be  given  to  the  men  engaged  in 
the  important  work  of  aiding  Catholic  farm  immi¬ 
grants  to  settle  in  localities  provided  with  Catholic 
churches.  Protestant  denominations  are  at  times 
exceedingly  active  among  these  foreign  elements, 
and  even  employ  a  corps  of  paid  agents  proficient 
in  many  languages,  so  that  direct  guidance  can  be 
given  to  every  stranger  in  his  own  tongue. 

Every  immigrant  who  comes  to  our  coast  must 
be  numbered  among  the  unemployed.  It  is  evi¬ 
dent,  therefore,  how  in  this  problem,  as  in  every 
other,  the  question  of  religion  cannot  be  disre¬ 
garded.  Even  among  native  laborers  there  would 
be  great  possibilities  of  abuses  in  this  matter. 
Therefore,  the  problem  of  a  national  system  of 
labor  bureaus  must  likewise  be  viewed  from  its 
religious  side. 

The  following  recommendations  for  labor  dis¬ 
tribution  were  drawn  up  by  the  United  States  in 
the  early  period  of  the  war : 

For  the  purpose  of  mobilizing  the  labor  supply,  with  a  view 
to  its  rapid  and  effective  distribution,  a  permanent  list  of  the 
number  of  skilled  and  other  workers  available  in  different  parts 
of  the  nation  shall  be  kept  on  file  by  the  Department  of  Labor, 
the  information  to  be  constantly  furnished:  (i)  by  the  trade 
unions,  (2)  by  State  employment  bureaus  and  federal  agencies 
of  like  character,  (3)  by  the  managers  and  operators  of  in¬ 
dustrial  establishments  throughout  the  country.  These  agencies 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  UNEMPLOYMENT  I4T 

should  be  given  opportunity  to  aid  in  the  distribution  of  labor, 
as  necessity  demands. 

The  plan  is  conceived  on  a  most  comprehensive 
scale,  though  there  is  no  mention  of  the  numerous 
charitable  agencies.  Even  more  elaborate  was 
the  plan  for  the  mobilization  of  the  unskilled 
workers  of  the  land,  and  their  distribution  through 
the  agencies  centralized  in  the  United  States  Em¬ 
ployment  Service.  But  the  object  in  view  here 
was  the  supply  of  labor  for  war  work.  There 
was  question  of  a  dearth  and  not  of  a  surplus  of 
workers. 

The  supreme  difficulty  in  the  establishment  of 
public  employment  exchanges  will  present  itself 
during  times  of  strike.  Evidently  such  institu¬ 
tions  must  be  perfectly  neutral,  favoring  neither 
labor  nor  capital.  Wherever  a  strike  has  been 
declared  employers  will  clamor  for  assistance, 
while  the  unions  will  be  inclined  to  demand  that 
it  be  refused.  There  is  only  one  course  open  to 
a  free  public  labor  bureau.  It  must  declare  the 
existence  of  the  strike,  while  at  the  same  time  ad¬ 
vertising  the  fact  of  an  open  employment.  Some 
provisions,  however,  might  be  made  to  secure  fair 
treatment  of  labor  as  a  condition  of  giving  recog¬ 
nition  to  any  firm. 


142 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


In  spite,  however,  of  all  precautions  and  facili¬ 
ties  a  certain  amount  of  unemployment  must  often 
occur.  To  prevent  unnecessary  hardship  during 
this  time  an  unemployment  insurance  is  widely 
advocated.  It  exists  at  present  to  a  limited  ex¬ 
tent  in  some  of  our  own  trade  unions.  In  Europe 
it  has  been  adopted  as  a  civic  measure  by  various 
communities.  The  city  or  government  offers  a 
subvention  and  the  remaining  portion  of  the  un¬ 
employment  fund  is  made  up  of  regular  contribu¬ 
tions.  Only  such  as  faithfully  pay  their  monthly 
tax  can  enjoy  the  benefit  of  the  unemployment 
insurance. 

In  view  of  the  various  experiments  already 
made,  the  conclusion  must  be  drawn  that  practi¬ 
cally  the  only  class  of  workingmen  who  avail  them¬ 
selves  of  this  privilege  are  the  members  of  labor 
organizations.  The  unskilled  and  unorganized 
laborer  cannot  be  induced  to  contribute  to  such  a 
fund,  unless  the  obligation  is  legally  forced  upon 
him,  and  the  money  is  actually  deducted  from  his 
wages.  Those,  therefore,  enjoy  the  public  liber¬ 
ality  who  stand  least  in  need  of  it.  Exception,  of 
course,  must  be  made  for  countries  in  which  or¬ 
ganization  is  very  general. 

It  seems  that  unemployment  insurance  as  a 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  UNEMPLOYMENT  143 

civic  measure,  if  deemed  advisable,  cannot  be  in¬ 
troduced  except  as  a  compulsory  law. 

The  following  is  the  view  expressed  by  the 
Archbishop  of  Melbourne,  in  dealing  with  the 
important  question  of  unemployment,  as  reported 
in  the  Catholic  Times  for  March  8,  1918: 


To  ray  mind,  governments  are  bound  to  provide  against  un¬ 
employment  so  far  as  they  may,  and  then  to  provide  for  the  un¬ 
employed.  It  is  very  poor  consolation  to  tell  a  man  that  when 
employed  he  has  a  right  to  a  living  wage,  if  at  the  same  time  he 
is  starving  for  want  of  work.  If,  as  Pope  Leo  says,  the  inherent 
dignity  of  man’s  nature  entitles  him  to  a  living  wage  when  he 
is  at  work,  the  same  requirement  of  his  nature  should  impera¬ 
tively  demand  for  him  a  decent  sustenance  when  he  is  willing  to 
undertake,  but,  through  no  fault  of  his  own,  is  unable  to  find, 
work.  If  the  right  to  work  and  the  right  to  support  during  un¬ 
employment  were  recognized,  as  I  think  they  ought  to  be  rec¬ 
ognized,  I  promise  you  that  governments  and  capitalists  would 
try  to  find  work  for  all.  I  know  that  people  will  say  that  I 
am  playing  fast  and  loose  with  property.  Of  course,  I  am  put¬ 
ting  upon  the  State,  and  upon  society,  duties  which  they  are 
naturally  reluctant  to  undertake. 

He  believes  this  to  be  a  wider  application  of 
the  doctrine  of  the  living  wage  as  maintained  by 
Pope  Leo  XIII.  As  for  those  who  stand  aghast 
at  the  financial  difficulties  of  such  a  plan,  he  points 
to  the  willingness  with  which  untold  millions 
were  contributed  for  the  great  European  conflict. 
“  Heaven  and  earth  would  have  been  moved  and 
all  the  devices  of  Parliament  exhausted  before  an 


144 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


hundredth  part  of  that  expenditure  would  have 
gone  to  improve  the  lot  of  the  poor  man  who 
labors  for  a  living.”  Yet  this  surely  is  no  less 
a  duty  of  democracy. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


IS  THERE  WORK  FOR  ALL? 

THE  constantly  recurring  evil  of  unem¬ 
ployment  naturally  suggests  the  perti¬ 
nent  question,  “  Is  it  possible  to  provide 
all  men  with  opportunities  for  work?”  Guided 
by  the  light  of  faith  we  need  not  hesitate  in  giving 
our  answer. 

God  has  imposed  upon  mankind  the  necessity 
of  labor.  He  consequently  desires  that  in  the 
ordinary  course  of  events  all  should  have  the  pos¬ 
sibility  of  fulfilling  this  obligation.  A  civilization 
in  which  frequent  unemployment  on  the  part  of  a 
multitude  of  men,  able  and  willing  to  work,  is  a 
normal  condition,  has  failed  to  use  its  natural  or 
supernatural  provisions.  Probably  both. 

There  is,  furthermore,  no  contradiction  be¬ 
tween  the  Divine  decree  of  labor  and  the  primal 
blessing  given  to  mankind:  “  Increase  and  mul¬ 
tiply.”  Faith  and  reason  tell  us  this.  God  can¬ 
not  contradict  Himself.  The  preaching  of  race 
suicide  by  Socialists  in  the  name  of  labor  is  but 

145 


146  THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 

another  logical  expression  of  their  rebellion 
against  Divine  as  well  as  human  laws.  We  must 
add,  however,  that  only  when  all  the  command¬ 
ments  of  God  and  His  Church  are  in  force  can 
we  be  certain  that  His  wise  provisions  for  the  hu¬ 
man  race  will  not  be  frustrated.  Over-population 
will  not  exhaust  the  earth  and  the  fullness  thereof. 

Doubtless  there  exists  the  closest  connection 
even  between  the  highest  spiritual  counsels  and  the 
general  economic  welfare  of  humanity.  No  in¬ 
tegral  element,  such  for  instance  as  religious  voca¬ 
tions,  can  be  taken  from  God’s  plan  of  the  world 
without  entailing  serious  consequences. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  added  violations  of 
God’s  laws  must  constantly  increase  the  general 
chaos  and  those  unnecessary  miseries  which  are 
attributable  only  to  man’s  ill-ordered  affections. 
Suffering,  of  course,  is  never  to  be  banished  from 
man’s  earthly  existence.  It  is  his  greatest  source 
of  supernatural  merit.  Temporary  unemploy¬ 
ment  may,  therefore,  exist  from  time  to  time  as 
one  of  those  sufferings  to  which  man  is  heir  in  his 
fallen  state,  as  one  of  the  means  of  penance  and 
sanctification.  Such,  however,  is  not  the  prob¬ 
lem  which  confronts  us  so  frequently  in  modern 
civilization. 


IS  THERE  WORK  FOR  ALL? 


147 


Neither  can  this  problem  be  solved  by  dimin¬ 
ishing  the  work  day  to  a  fanciful  minimum  of 
hours  while  increasing  the  wages  in  an  inverse  pro¬ 
portion,  and  establishing  the  Socialist  “  right  to 
loaf.”  As  the  idle  rich  are  a  scandal,  so  the 
idle  poor,  whether  in  voluntary  or  enforced  un¬ 
employment,  are  a  disgrace  to  our  civilization. 

What,  then,  is  wrong  with  the  world?  Much, 
very  much!  Yet  all  may  be  summed  up  in  one 
word:  estrangement  from  Christ  and  His  Church. 
If  her  teaching  regarding  the  education  and  safe¬ 
guarding  of  the  child  were  duly  observed;  if 
woman  regained  her  natural  place  in  society  and 
the  household  and  the  dignity  which  Christianity 
conferred  upon  her;  if  the  modern  evils  which 
prevent  or  delay  marriage,  sever  domestic  ties  and 
destroy  the  sanctity  of  home,  were  swept  away; 
if  just  wages  were  paid  to  the  workingman,  to 
the  exclusion  of  all  radical  demands,  so  that  every 
father  of  a  family  could  with  honest  thrift  rea¬ 
sonably  support  both  wife  and  children;  if,  in  fine, 
a  more  fair  distribution  of  profits  were  enforced, 
then  the  first  step  had  been  taken  towards  the  ul¬ 
timate  solution  of  the  problem  of  unemployment. 
In  office,  factory  and  shop  countless  positions 
would  at  once  be  left  vacant  for  men  to  fill,  nor 


148 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


would  women  be  prevented  from  earning  their 
daily  bread  in  their  various  and  befitting  occupa¬ 
tions  where  not  claimed  by  household  duties  and 
the  care  of  little  ones.  We  clearly  understand 
the  position  of  women  in  industry  and  commerce, 
we  fully  realize  the  stern  necessity  which  places 
its  compulsion  upon  them  and  we  deeply  sympa¬ 
thize  with  all  their  difficulties.  Only  with  the  re¬ 
turn  of  true  and  practical  Christianity  will  woman 
ever  come  into  her  own. 

There  was  no  little  truth  in  the  following  indict¬ 
ment  of  the  capitalistic  system  as  it  developed  af¬ 
ter  the  Reformation.  The  words  quoted  are 
taken  from  an  issue  of  the  Iternational  Socialist 
Review  published  shortly  before  the  outbreak  of 
the  war: 


Every  day  we  see  homes  being  broken  up  all  around  us.  The 
homes  of  thousands  of  workers  are  broken  up  every  day. 
Fathers  are  forced  to  leave  their  families  and  go  to  distant 
states  to  get  a  job;  mothers  are  compelled  to  leave  their  babies 
and  earn  money  in  factories  or  mills  to  support  them.  Little 
children,  who  ought  to  be  in  school,  have  to  go  to  work  to  keep 
the  wolf  from  the  door. 

Low  wages,  uncertain  jobs  and  the  profit  system  are  breaking 
up  the  homes  of  working  people  faster  and  faster  every  day. 
{Oct.,  1913.) 


The  solution  to  such  a  condition,  wherever  it 
may  exist,  is  not  a  new  enslavement  under  Social- 


IS  THERE  WORK  FOR  ALL?  149 

ism,  but  a  system  of  Christian  Democracy.  Men 
are  not  all  to  be  leveled  down  to  the  same  condi¬ 
tion  of  misery,  as  would  inevitably  be  the  case  un¬ 
der  a  bureaucratic  Socialist  absolutism,  paralyzing 
the  energy  and  initiative  that  come  from  private 
enterprise.  They  should  be  lifted  up  instead  to 
the  fullest  participation  possible  in  the  possession 
of  productive  property.  The  only  reasonable  aim 
of  society  is  a  wider  distribution,  and  not  a  destruc¬ 
tion  of  private  capital.  Differences  of  wealth  and 
of  classes  are  in  conformity  with  the  differences  in 
nature  itself,  but  these  do  not  militate  against  a 
more  equitable  distribution  of  the  goods  of  the 
earth  which  God  has  created  for  all. 

The  country,  too,  must  be  restored  to  its 
due  honors,  and  just  laws  provided  to  secure  for 
the  husbandman  the  fruits  of  his  labor,  if  starva¬ 
tion  is  not  to  be  added  to  unemployment.  All 
these  conditions  may  seem  utopian.  Yet  they  are 
no  more  utopian  than  Christianity  itself.  They 
are  only  its  economic  expression. 

The  fault,  therefore,  lies  not  with  modern  ma¬ 
chinery  or  any  other  modern  inventions.  Neither 
the  disruption  of  the  home  nor  want  of  labor  is 
due  to  these.  They  are  merely  factors  calling 
for  social  readjustments,  such  as  have  at  various 


150 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


times  taken  place  in  the  past.  With  the  influ¬ 
ence  of  Catholic  teaching  paramount  these  read¬ 
justments  could  again  be  successfully  brought 
about.  The  morality  of  the  home,  the  decree  of 
labor,  the  Divine  benediction,  “  Increase  and 
multiply,”  are  not  for  one  period,  but  for  all  time. 
No  economic  evolutions  can  ever  alter  them. 

Justice  and  charity  are  compatible  with  every 
stage  of  industrial  progress.  Were  the  Sunday 
rest  of  the  church  observed  religiously,  were  her 
holidays  of  obligation  in  force  as  during  the  ages 
of  Faith,  were  the  home  preserved  in  its  integrity 
and  not  replaced  to  such  an  extent  by  factory  and 
shop,  were  senseless  excesses  and  expenditures 
avoided  and  the  law  of  brotherhood  and  Chris¬ 
tian  solidarity  obeyed  in  the  spirit  of  her  teaching, 
there  would  be  work  and  bread  for  all  today. 
Charity  would  supply  in  the  love  of  Christ  for 
whatever  might  still  be  wanting  in  times  of  private 
or  public  distress.  There  would  be  less  display, 
there  would  be  fewer  fortunes  made,  but  the  hap¬ 
piness  of  the  people  would  increase  a  thousand¬ 
fold.  There  would  be  place  neither  for  Liberal¬ 
ism  nor  Socialism  in  such  a  world. 

But  we  must  take  conditions  as  we  find  them. 


IS  THERE  WORK  FOR  ALL?  1 5  I 

Ideal  they  can  never  be.  Original  sin  is  a  fact 
which  the  world  may  try  to  ignore,  but  whose  con¬ 
sequences  it  must  always  feel.  As  Christians 
every  social  problem  is  of  interest  to  us,  and  the 
problem  of  unemployment  not  least  of  all.  Our 
Lord  Himself,  we  may  well  suppose,  had  suffered 
bitterly  from  it. 

What  Christian  does  not  feel  the  gentle  touch 
of  grateful  pity  when  he  contemplates  the  Flight 
into  Egypt?  How  the  heart  of  Joseph  sank  as 
with  Mother  and  Child  he  hastened  in  the  night, 
through  the  silent  moon-lit  streets  of  Bethlehem, 
at  the  angel’s  warning!  He  looked  to  God’s 
Providence  alone  to  find  a  living  for  those  most 
dear  to  him. 

But  it  was  not  in  the  ruling  of  that  Providence 
to  remove  the  suffering  which  was  to  be  so  meri¬ 
torious  for  him  and  in  which  Christ  and  Mary 
were  to  have  so  large  a  part.  We  can  picture  him, 
humbled  and  abashed,  perhaps  penniless  and 
breadless,  as  he  asks  for  work  in  a  pagan  city  from 
people  speaking  an  alien  tongue.  Yet  there  was 
no  pang  of  that  royal,  faithful  heart  in  which 
Christ  and  Mary  did  not  bear  their  happy  part. 
They  were  winning  even  then  the  special  graces  of 


152 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


patience  and  of  sanctification  for  the  multitudes 
of  the  unemployed  through  all  the  ages  who  were 
to  suffer  in  union  with  them. 

While  therefore  resignation  to  God’s  will  is  the 
spirit  of  Christ,  yet  it  does  not  free  us  from  the 
duty  of  relieving  to  the  utmost  in  our  power  the 
human  miseries  of  the  present  life.  But  we  may 
not  forget  at  the  same  time  that  only  one  final  solu¬ 
tion  can  ever  be  found.  It  is  the  same  for  all  the 
problems  of  our  age.  No  purely  material  remedy 
can  cure  its  distempers.  It  is  the  soul  which  is 
sick.  Only  the  Divine  Physician  has  power  to  heal 
it.  Only  the  Church  can  restore  the  beauty  and 
joy  and  peace  and  strength  which  have  been  lost 
in  spite  of  all  material  progress.  More  can  be 
accomplished  by  the  pure  preaching  of  the  Gospel 
than  by  all  the  wisdom  of  our  social  experts.  The 
Church  does  not  repudiate  their  labors,  she  en¬ 
courages  her  children  to  aid  in  this  work  to  the 
utmost  of  their  power  wherever  it  is  conducted  on 
righteous  and  charitable  principles.  But  she 
would  have  us  contribute  more  than  mere  material 
assistance.  The  power  of  the  word  of  God,  of 
penance,  prayer  and  the  sacraments  must  not  be 
forgotten  as  the  foremost  remedy  for  the  evils  of 
every  age.  A  Saint  Francis  of  Assisi  is  of  more 


IS  THERE  WORK  FOR  ALL?  1 53 

avail  for  the  true  regeneration  of  mankind  than 
a  host  of  sociologists,  and  a  Carmel  of  Saint 
Teresa  than  a  hundred  social  institutes.  The 
world  needs  Christianity,  and  Christianity  in  its 
fulness  is  Catholicism. 

It  is  not  to  discredit  social  work,  but  to  motive 
it  aright,  that  these  lines  have  been  written.  By 
our  true,  active,  Christian  interest  in  the  poor  and 
afflicted  of  every  kind  we  prove  ourselves  to  be 
followers  of  Christ.  Yet  we  must  not  forget  that 
the  poverty  and  sickness  of  soul  in  which  our  gen¬ 
eration  languishes  is  inexpressibly  greater  than 
any  merely  material  want  or  suffering.  The 
worst  of  all  symptoms  is  that  men  are  able  to  rec¬ 
ognize  only  the  physical  malady.  To  cure  this 
blindness  must  be  the  first  and  greatest  of  all  our 
social  work.  “Rabboni,  that  I  may  see.” 


CHAPTER  XV 


THE  GREAT  FARM  PROBLEM 


THE  one  essential  class  of  workers,  as  an 
editorial  writer  in  a  New  York  daily  re¬ 
cently  remarked,  are  the  farmers.  Civ¬ 
ilization  can  exist  without  bankers,  brokers,  and 
lawyers.  It  is  even  possible  without  minutely 
specialized  trades  and  organized  schools.  A  civ¬ 
ilization  of  no  mean  pretensions  existed  in  the 
early  manorial  days  when  each  family-group  pro¬ 
duced  all  that  it  consumed,  constructed  the  roof 
under  which  it  dwelled,  and  spun  from  the  wool 
of  its  flocks  the  garments  that  it  wore.  Even  in 
our  own  time  all  human  subsistence,  as  Pope  Leo 
XIII  wisely  said,  “  is  derived  either  from  labor 
on  one’s  own  land,  or  from  some  industry  which  is 
paid  for  either  in  the  produce  of  the  land  itself  or 
in  that  which  is  exchanged  for  what  the  land  brings 
forth.” 

Self-preservation,  therefore,  if  no  other  reason, 
should  urge  a  nation  to  consider  first  and  foremost 


154 


THE  GREAT  FARM  PROBLEM 


155 


the  interest  of  its  farming  population.  This  be¬ 
comes  more  imperative,  the  more  a  nation  increases 
in  the  development  of  its  cities  and  the  expansion 
of  its  industries.  We  are  all  familiar  with  the 
famous  “  Hooverism  ”  that  “  Food  will  win  the 
war.” 

But  the  farming  problem  is  far  more  than  a 
war  question.  It  looms  equally  large  in  times  of 
peace.  It  is  only  the  clatter  of  machinery,  the 
endless  whir  of  the  revolving  wheels,  the  cry  of 
poverty  and  distress  within  the  city  streets  and  the 
constant  stirrings  of  social  unrest  that  can  cause 
the  city-bred  economist  to  overlook  the  larger 
issues  to  be  worked  out  upon  the  land. 

The  class  of  small  farmers  is  the  strength  and 
support  of  the  nation.  Here  we  can  still  find  that 
economic  independence  of  which  industrialism  has 
deprived  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  city  popula¬ 
tion.  But  to  protect  this  class  organized  assist¬ 
ance  must  be  given  and  organized  protection  ex¬ 
tended.  Above  all  we  must  teach  the  farmers 
themselves  to  organize  if  they  would  secure  their 
rights  and  have  their  interests  duly  consulted  in 
our  legislatures.  Nothing  is  truer  than  the  state¬ 
ment  shrewdly  made  in  a  Hearst  paper,  that  there 
are  just  two  things  that  operate  decisively  upon  the 


156  THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 

intelligence  and  the  conduct  of  the  average  politi¬ 
cian:  “  One  is  the  secret  whisper  of  the  cunning 
corporation  agent.  The  other  is  the  power  of  a 
majority  of  the  voters,  massed  in  active  organi¬ 
zation,  resolutely  bent  upon  having  their  will 
performed.” 

But  organization  of  our  farmers  is  equally  neces¬ 
sary  for  direct  economic  purposes.  The  invention 
of  machinery  has  made  cooperation  among  farm¬ 
ers  imperative.  u  The  factory  type  of  estate  will 
dominate  in  agricultural  production,  unless  signs 
fail,”  was  the  forecast  made  by  a  writer  in  the 
American  Journal  of  Sociology.  We  should  not 
permit  this  to  come  about.  The  independence  of 
the  small  farmer  must  be  preserved  and  can  be 
preserved.  He  is  not  to  be  absorbed  into  a  sys¬ 
tem  which  will  reproduce  upon  the  farm  the  con¬ 
ditions  existing  in  factory  life.  Yet  there  is  but 
one  means  to  prevent  such  a  catastrophe  and 
that  is  organization  on  the  part  of  our  farmers, 
not  merely  to  obtain  that  political  representation 
to  which  they  are  entitled,  but  likewise  to  enable 
them  to  work  cooperatively.  It  is  thus  alone  that 
they  can  avail  themselves,  equally  with  the  large 
capitalist,  of  the  enormous  and  expensive  agricul¬ 
tural  machinery  with  its  time-saving  and  man- 


THE  GREAT  FARM  PROBLEM 


157 


saving  devices.  Buying,  stock-shipping,  conduct¬ 
ing  of  warehouses  and  elevators,  and  countless 
other  branches  of  business  can  then  too  be  carried 
on  through  independent  farmers’  unions.  Coop¬ 
eration  through  organization  is  the  economic  solu¬ 
tion,  if  not  of  all,  at  least  of  many  of  our  farming 
problems.  This  question  will  again  be  treated 
in  the  chapters  on  cooperation. 

Attention,  too,  must  be  given  to  the  farm-labor 
problem.  The  story  of  a  “  farmhand  ”  is  told 
who  worked  from  dawn  until  night,  completing  his 
chores  by  lantern  light.  At  the  end  of  the  month 
he  came  to  the  farmer: 

“  I’m  going  to  quit,”  he  said.  “  You  promised 
me  a  steady  job.” 

“Well,  haven’t  you  one?”  was  the  astonished 
reply. 

“  No,”  came  the  answer.  “  There  are  some 
three  or  four  hours  every  night  I  haven’t  anything 
to  do  except  to  fool  away  my  time  with  sleeping.” 

Discussing  this  problem  in  the  American  Labor 
Legislation  Review ,  E.  V.  Wilcox,  of  the  United 
States  Office  of  Farm  Management,  says  that  the 
problem  of  farm  labor  is  not  a  new  one  and  has 
always  existed.  The  farmer  complains  of  the 
inefficiency  of  his  laborer,  and  the  latter  no  less 


158  THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 

persistently  blames  the  farmer  for  poor  housing 
conditions,  poor  food,  and  bad  treatment. 

The  laborer  has  complained  more  bitterly  perhaps  of  irregu¬ 
larity  in  hours  than  of  the  length  of  the  day’s  work  on  the  farm. 
He  has  also  resented  the  fact  that  in  many  instances  his  social 
status  is  wholly  anomalous  and  indefinable,  since  he  appears  to 
be  neither  a  member  of  the  family  nor  of  any  other  recognized 
status.  In  fact,  he  seems  to  feel  that  from  the  viewpoint  of  the 
farmer  he  is  neither  flesh,  fowl  nor  good  red  herring. 

It  is  plainly  necessary,  Mr.  Wilcox  argues  in 
conclusion,  that  the  two  parties  should  strive  to 
reach  an  agreement  with  each  other.  “  Each  must 
meet  the  other’s  reasonable  requirements.” 

The  need  of  providing  for  the  interests  of  both 
the  farmer  and  the  farm  laborer  is  obvious  to  all. 
“  Back  to  the  land!  ”  was  the  warning  cry  of  all 
modern  economists  long  before  the  outbreak  of  the 
Great  War.  They  could  not  fail  to  realize  the 
serious  danger  arising  from  the  steady  influx  of 
the  country  population  into  the  towns. 

In  America  a  scarcity  of  food  was  seriously 
brought  home  to  the  nation  for  the  first  time  at  the 
outbreak  of  the  Great  War.  It  was  due  in  no 
slight  measure  to  the  almost  criminal  neglect  of 
the  farming  population  of  the  States.  Men  had 
been  paying  extravagant  prices  for  farm  products, 
but  too  often  little  more  than  an  infinitesimal  por- 


THE  GREAT  FARM  PROBLEM 


159 


tion  of  the  profit  had  gone  to  the  farmer.  Dr. 
Frederic  C.  Howe  points  out  that  the  lettuce  on 
the  table  had  sometimes  cost  2,900  per  cent, 
of  what  the  farmer  received  for  it.  This,  of 
course,  though  true,  is  an  extreme  example,  yet 
the  fact  remains,  that  the  farmer  has  often  re¬ 
ceived  the  merest  pittance  for  his  labor,  while  his 
produce  was  sold  at  enormous  prices  in  the  cities. 
Others  reaped  the  benefit,  his  was  the  toil  and  the 
worry. 

There  were  many  causes  which  conspired  to 
bring  about  these  results.  One  was  the  natural 
tendency  of  the  railways  to  favor  the  longer  hauls. 
Thus  we  are  told  of  conditions  that  existed  while 
this  railroad  absolutism  lasted: 


Apples,  which  the  farmers  of  New  York  are  ready  and  eager 
to  sell  for  $2.50  a  barrel,  rotted  on  the  ground  fifty  or  a  hundred 
miles  from  the  city,  while  carloads  of  Western  apples  are  sold 
at  prices  prohibitive  to  the  poor.  Peaches,  pears  and  other 
fruits  find  the  city  markets  closed  against  them,  while  Florida, 
Maryland  and  distant  producers  secure  cars  and  buyers  in 
abundance.  (Howe,  “The  High  Cost  of  Living.”) 

While  farmers  were  driven  from  their  farms  in 
the  East,  the  transportation  agencies  held  the  same 
power  of  life  or  death  over  the  more  distant  culti¬ 
vators,  not  to  mention  the  grievance  of  the  con¬ 
sumer  and  the  intense  suffering  caused  to  the  poor. 


l6o  the  world  problem 

Favoritism  likewise  could  be  shown  by  side-track¬ 
ing  cars,  or  neglecting  entire  sections  of  farming 
lands. 

Many  of  these  evils  have  been  remedied,  and  all, 
it  would  seem,  could  be  set  aside  by  an  ideal  Gov¬ 
ernment  control  or  even  Government  ownership 
of  the  railroads.  The  danger,  however,  always 
remains  that  such  control  and  ownership  may  be 
far  from  ideal.  No  one  can  question  its  wonder¬ 
ful  success  in  Germany  before  the  war,  nor  its 
absolute  failure  in  other  instances  that  might  read¬ 
ily  be  quoted.  Yet  Government  supervision  of 
some  kind  there  certainly  must  be.  Simply  to 
leave  the  farmer  to  his  fate  is  to  leave  the  country 
to  destruction. 

The  writer  previously  quoted  is  probably  not 
far  wrong  when  he  attributes  Germany’s  economic 
strength  during  the  war  to  her  organization  for 
food  distribution.  Her  railroads,  as  he  says, 
were  operated  to  help  industry  and  to  build  up 
agriculture.  “  No  one,  least  of  all  the  railway 
officials,  would  listen  for  a  moment  to  the  sugges¬ 
tion  that  farm  produce  from  Hamburg,  on  the 
North  Sea,  should  be  brought  to  East  Prussia 
because  it  would  benefit  the  railroads.”  One  of 


THE  GREAT  FARM  PROBLEM  l6l 

the  main  objects  of  the  latter  must  be  to  benefit 
both  producer  and  consumer. 

We  have  to  some  extent  met  the  abuses  of  rail¬ 
roads,  storage  combines,  and  middlemen  which 
threatened  to  make  of  farming,  in  some  portions 
of  the  country,  an  almost  impossible  means  of 
livelihood.  Much  still  remains  to  be  done  in 
these  regards,  but  we  must  likewise  offer  positive 
encouragement  and  assistance  to  the  farmer  if  we 
wish  to  consult  not  his  advantage  alone,  but  the 
welfare  of  the  entire  community.  Thus  Denmark 
and  Australia  have  set  an  example  by  lending 
money  to  him  at  reasonable  rates. 

Had  America  done  this  in  the  case  of  the  great 
immigrant  population  that  has  yearly  entered  her 
ports,  while  not  neglecting  to  secure  for  its  farm 
produce  the  proper  transportation  and  distribution, 
there  would  never  have  been  a  food  scarcity  to  be 
dreaded.  Laudable  efforts  have  been  made  in  this 
direction,  but  the  States  were  very  late  to  enter 
upon  the  way  of  progress,  while  Reiffeisen  banks 
and  excellent  credit  systems,  so  essential  to  agri¬ 
cultural  development,  had  been  long  ago  estab¬ 
lished  in  other  countries. 

The  inadequate  provision  made  for  the  farm- 


162 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


ing  population  of  the  United  States  helped  to 
augment  the  yearly  emigration  of  thousands  of 
them  to  the  neighboring  Canadian  farm  lands. 

Another  great  evil  is  the  possession  of  large 
sections  of  untilled  land  by  wealthy  owners. 
Thus  the  report  of  a  special  commission  on  large 
land-holdings  in  Southern  California  stated: 
“  It  is  certain  that  much  of  the  tillable  land  in  the 
large  holdings  lies  idle  in  the  face  of  insistent 
demand  of  many  thousands  of  men  for  access 
to  the  soil.”  While  we  cannot  too  earnestly  pro¬ 
tect  the  small  farm-owner  in  the  possession  of 
the  soil  he  cultivates,  we  must  equally  seek  to 
multiply  such  owners.  Where  conditions  may 
render  it  necessary,  a  graduated  land  tax  will  be 
no  less  justified  than  a  progressive  income  tax. 

If  opportunities  are  provided  him  and  an  ade¬ 
quate  credit  system  is  developed,  a  deserving 
immigrant,  who  has  come  to  America  from  the 
farm  lands  of  Europe,  endowed  with  skill, 
strength,  and  industry,  but  without  material 
means,  can  be  offered  a  pleasant  and  comfortable 
home.  In  place  of  adding  to  the  industrial  con¬ 
fusion  and  swelling,  it  may  be,  the  ranks  of  mal¬ 
contents  and  revolutionaries,  he  will  have  a 
chance  to  become  of  the  highest  service  to  the 
commonwealth. 


THE  GREAT  FARM  PROBLEM  1 63 

Few  indeed  realize  how  intimately  the  economic 
questions  of  the  day  are  connected  with  the  Agra¬ 
rian  problem  and  fewer  still  understand  the  nature 
of  the  tremendous  issues  at  stake  upon  the  land 
itself.  Not  merely  the  loan  shark,  the  middle¬ 
man,  the  railway,  and  the  capitalistic  speculator 
are  to  be  taken  into  consideration,  but  the  great 
struggle  between  Socialism  and  Christianity  is  here 
likewise  persistently  fought.  Socialism  in  fact 
has  made  concessions  of  every  kind  to  gain  the  vote 
of  the  farmer  without  whom  it  despairs  of  com¬ 
passing  its  end.  The  interests  of  religion,  above 
all,  are  to  be  safeguarded  here.  A  glance  at 
Pierre  L’Ermite’s  novel,  “  The  Mighty  Friend  ” 
will  give  us  a  closer  insight  into  this  question. 

The  agricultural  problem  in  Europe  naturally 
presents  certain  phases  that  are  not  to  be  found  in 
America.  Thus  that  intensity  of  affection  for 
every  acre  of  inherited  land  which  fills  the  hearts 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Old  World  is  obviously 
not  to  be  looked  for  in  the  n£wer  countries.  It 
requires  the  slow  growth  of  centuries  and  the 
static  conditions  of  European  ownership,  such  as 
existed  before  the  great  world  war,  to  bring  about 
the  conditions  described  by  Pierre  L’Ermite,  to 
whom  the  soil  is  still  a  sacred  trust,  a  thing  “  com- 


164 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


pact  of  the  dust,  the  remembrances  and  the  toil 
of  our  ancestors.”  It  is  thus  nothing  less  than 
“  The  Mighty  Friend,”  who  is  loved  with  an  af¬ 
fection  strong  as  life  itself. 

However  different  agricultural  conditions  in  the 
New  World  may  be  from  those  of  rural  Europe, 
yet  the  physical  and  moral  arguments  in  favor  of 
the  land  against  the  factory  hold  equally  true  to¬ 
day  for  every  country.  The  main  object  of  Pierre 
L’Ermite,  in  his  novel,  “  The  Mighty  Friend,” 
was  to  combat  the  idea  gaining  ground  everywhere, 
that  life  on  the  land  “  no  longer  makes  for  great¬ 
ness,  whatever  it  may  have  done  in  the  past.”  A 
petty  weakness  of  the  farmer  is  to  belittle  the  re¬ 
sults  of  his  work  without  seriously  believing  his 
own  words.  The  factory  agents  in  Pierre  L’Er- 
mite’s  story  cleverly  fall  in  with  this  mood  to  coax 
him  from  the  land  into  the  newly  erected  piles  of 
masonry,  with  their  smoke-stacks  already  darken¬ 
ing  the  sky,  their  waste  polluting  the  stream,  and 
their  noisome  odors  poisoning  the  pure  country 
air. 

“  After  taking  any  amount  of  trouble  with  the 
ground,”  they  argue  with  the  country  folk,  “  the 
ungrateful  thing  will  do  no  more  than  give  you,  at 
the  end  of  the  day’s  work,  the  hope  of  a  harvest 


THE  GREAT  FARM  PROBLEM  1 65 

that  perhaps  will  never  materialize.  You  take 
every  precaution,  you  provide  yourself  with  all 
sorts  of  guarantees,  and  you  choose  your  seed  well, 
but  who  can  assure  you  that  you  are  not  going  to 
be  frozen  out,  hailed  out,  scorched  out,  swamped 
out?  Now,  the  factory-hand  hasn’t  any  of  these 
worries.  It  does  not  matter  to  him  what  weather 
it  is.  Every  night  of  his  life  the  white  pieces  are 
clinking  in  his  hand,  full  weight,  three  francs,  four 
francs,  five  francs,  as  the  case  may  be,  and  some¬ 
times  up  to  six  francs  and  more.” 

Similar  thoughts  suggest  themselves  to  the 
farmer  of  their  own  accord,  particularly  after  a 
failure  in  crops  or  other  mishaps  and  difficulties. 
The  reverse  of  the  picture  is  too  frequently 
ignored. 

Graphically  the  author  depicts  for  us,  in  con¬ 
trast  to  the  former  happy  country  life,  the  familiar 
abominations  of  a  factory  system  such  as  that  con¬ 
ducted  by  the  firm  of  his  story,  representing  all  the 
worst  vices  of  rationalistic  capitalism.  The  ut¬ 
most  personal  gain  is  the  only  object  in  view.  The 
dignity  of  labor  is  degraded  and  its  value  rated 
beneath  the  very  beasts  of  burden,  whose  loss  or 
disability  implies  at  least  a  financial  consideration 
for  their  owner,  while  labor  is  plentiful  upon  the 


1 66 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


market.  Religion  is  utterly  ignored,  and  immor¬ 
ality  and  Socialism  are  consequently  bred  like  mag¬ 
gots  in  the  social  corruption  of  workshop  and  slum. 
The  murderous  activity  of  the  hired  agitator,  who 
finds  in  such  surroundings  the  ideal  conditions  for 
his  criminal  purposes,  is  certain  to  follow.  We 
behold,  too,  in  the  story  the  smug  intervention  of 
a  professional  syndicalist  labor  council  —  whose 
equivalent  in  the  United  States  were  the  I.  W.  W. 

—  between  the  men  and  their  employers,  and  the 
use  of  all  those  modern  methods  of  agitation, 
which  we  have  already  had  sufficient  opportunity 
to  study  in  Europe  and  America,  and  by  which 
thousands  of  men  are  lashed  into  senseless  fury, 
until  they  are  finally  goaded  on  to  acts  of  destruc¬ 
tion,  violence,  and  bloodshed. 

City  life,  with  its  sordid,  malodorous  quarters 
where  the  poor  are  huddled  together,  its  large  de¬ 
partment  stores  with  their  armies  of  anemic  shop 
girls,  its  bewildering  wharves  and  stations,  and  its 
sooty,  grimy  factories,  is  to  the  author’s  imagina¬ 
tion  little  better  than  existence  in  a  prison  house. 
A  perceptible  thrill  of  horror  runs  through  his 
frame  as  he  recalls  “  some  Satanic  kitchen  at  work 

—  gigantic  furnaces,  colossal  steel  engines  and  the 
like,  amid  which  ran  to  and  fro  certain  murky  or 


THE  GREAT  FARM  PROBLEM  1 67 

khaki-colored  pigmies,  who  on  second  glance  had 
something  human  about  them.”  Even  the  very 
rows  of  urban  dwellings,  put  up  probably  by  the 
factory  owners  themselves  and  seen  through  a 
heavy  dust-laden  atmosphere,  “  reeking  with  the 
mephitic  stench  of  chemical  products,”  cast  a 
gloom  over  his  spirit,  which  we  ourselves  have  un¬ 
doubtedly  often  experienced:  “Everywhere  the 
same  gloomy  tone  of  the  same  commercial  brick¬ 
work  that  looked  as  though  it  might  have  been 
kneaded  in  the  claypits  from  the  very  heart’s  blood 
of  all  the  world’s  tedium  and  wretchedness.” 

That  factories  are  a  necessity  of  our  age  no  one 
is  likely  to  dispute.  The  very  implements  of  a 
progressive  agriculture,  upon  which  the  author  so 
greatly  insists,  require  them.  Many,  moreover, 
as  he  freely  admits,  are  conducted  on  Christian,  or 
at  least  on  humanitarian  principles,  which  are  often 
found  to  be  even  economically  the  most  satis¬ 
factory. 

Yet  the  truth  is  that  even  with  the  worst  of 
existing  conditions  men  will  flock  from  country 
to  city,  so  that  economically  all  the  danger  is  upon 
one  side.  The  temptations  to  evil,  especially  for 
the  young,  whether  boys  or  girls,  in  our  modern 
factories,  are  daily  growing  more  appalling.  No 


1 68 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


matter,  however,  how  disillusioned  the  poor 
worker  may  be  after  a  short  experience  in  factory 
life,  there  is  little  hope  that  he  will  ever  return  to 
the  land  which  he  has  left.  His  little  farm  has 
been  sold.  His  old  ties  have  all  been  severed  and 
new  habits  have  been  formed.  Even  should  he 
still  possess  the  means  and  the  inclination  to  return, 
his  children  are  unaccustomed  to  the  toil  of  the 
fields,  which  they  consider  inferior,  while  the  city 
has  securely  meshed  them  about  with  its  thousand 
lures. 

The  country,  too,  it  is  true,  is  daily  invaded  by  a 
godless  press,  and  Socialist  agitation  reaches  into 
every  quiet  nook  and  corner.  The  small  land¬ 
holder,  the  tenant  farmer  and  the  farm  laborer 
must  alike  be  solicited  if  Socialism  is  to  be  success¬ 
ful.  We  therefore  behold  a  vast  campaign,  cun¬ 
ningly  planned  and  carried  out,  to  flood  every  re¬ 
motest  country  district  with  a  poisonous  literature, 
which  artfully  combines  exaggeration  and  skilful 
sophistry  with  cleverly  manipulated  statistics  or 
deceptive  conclusions  drawn  from  a  one-sided  pre¬ 
sentation  of  official  investigations,  while  at  the 
same  time  attacking  the  Church,  her  clergy,  and 
the  principles  of  Christianity.  Nor  is  this  the 
only  danger,  for  the  vices  of  city  life,  or  their 


THE  GREAT  FARM  PROBLEM  1 69 

equivalents,  are  often  no  less  pronounced  upon  the 
land. 

It  is  necessary,  therefore,  for  every  influential 
agriculturist,  and  for  every  pastor  of  souls,  wher¬ 
ever  the  country  spire  lifts  up  its  cross  above  the 
waving  tree  tops  and  the  sound  of  the  angelus 
floats  over  the  golden  fields,  to  second  the  efficacy 
of  prayer  and  the  Sacraments  by  the  systematic 
introduction  of  Catholic  literature  into  every 
home.  A  specific  agrarian  Catholic  literature  is 
a  need  of  our  day,  which  we  know  has  not  been 
entirely  overlooked.  Papers,  moreover,  with  a 
large  agrarian  subscription  should  be  keen  to 
weed  out  all  the  errors,  social,  economic,  and  re¬ 
ligious,  which  the  enemy  is  sowing,  while  the  right¬ 
ful  owner  is  perhaps  fast  asleep.  If  Catholic 
literature  does  not  reach  the  farmer,  Socialistic  and 
other  objectionable  literature  certainly  will. 

It  is  interesting,  therefore,  to  note  that  Pierre 
L’Ermite  has  not  forgotten  to  record  among  the 
resolutions  of  his  Catholic  country  squire  one  which 
is  perhaps  the  most  important  of  all :  “  I  want  to 

have  well-edited,  up-to-date  local  papers,  all 

»  t 

Catholic  in  tone,  and  all  keenly  devoted  to  agri¬ 
cultural  interests.”  How  such  papers  can  be 
edited,  with  a  central  organ  to  which  local  addi- 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


170 

tions  can  be  made  by  local  editors,  Socialists  have 
taught  us  in  their  successful  newspaper  methods. 
It  was  likewise  by  a  capitalistic  press,  instantly 
established,  that  the  heartless  factory  owners  in 
Pierre  L’Ermite’s  novel  dominated  popular  opin¬ 
ion  among  the  farmers  and  sought  to  instil  hatred 
against  the  Church,  which  is  always  combated 
alike  by  godless  wealth  and  materialistic  Socialism. 

Another  question  of  great  moment  in  our  own 
country  is  the  systematic  direction  of  Catholic 
immigrants  into  localities  where  spiritual  ministra¬ 
tion  to  them  is  possible,  a  work  to  which  attention 
has  already  been  given.  The  scattering  of  Cath¬ 
olic  families  throughout  vast  country  districts, 
where  even  Catholic  fellowship  is  wanting,  was  re¬ 
sponsible  for  many  losses  in  the  early  history  of  the 
Church  in  America.  Nothing  therefore  could  be 
of  greater  importance  than  that  we  cooperate  in 
every  way  possible  with  our  Catholic  colonization 
societies,  which  fortunately  have  taken  in  hand  the 
solution  of  this  most  vital  question. 


CHAPTER  XVI 


CHURCH  AND  LABOR 
ORGANIZATIONS 

PARTICULAR  stress  is  laid  in  the  Papal 
Encyclicals  upon  the  benefit  to  be  derived 
from  social  organizations  permeated  with 
the  spirit  of  Christianity.  In  the  Middle  Ages, 
when  the  power  of  the  Church  was  universally  ac¬ 
knowledged,  we  find  her  everywhere  encouraging 
and  developing  the  system  of  Catholic  trade 
unionism  as  it  then  existed  in  her  gilds.  Like  an 
immense  network,  they  overspread  the  entire 
Christian  world.  Each  gild  constituted,  according 
to  the  mind  of  the  Church,  one  great  family. 
Spiritual  as  well  as  temporal  benefits  were  sought 
by  the  members  during  life,  and  masses  were  of¬ 
fered  for  their  souls  after  death.  Apprentices, 
journeymen  and  masters  were  still  united  by  iden¬ 
tical  interests.  Poverty,  as  it  exists  in  our  day, 
was  practically  unknown.  Though  need  and  suf¬ 
fering  were  never  wanting,  yet  the  great  monas- 

171 


172 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


teries  of  the  land  were  ever  open  to  alleviate  dis¬ 
tress.  Their  wealth  was  ever  the  patrimony  of 
the  poor. 

In  France,  in  England,  in  Germany,  in  Italy, 
and  wherever  the  Catholic  Church  flourished, 
there  likewise  sprang  up,  like  flowers  from  a  single 
seed,  the  same  strongly  organized  Catholic  gilds, 
lasting  unimpaired  through  centuries  and  securing 
temporal  and  spiritual  benefits  for  all.  No  mod¬ 
ern  reformer  can  suggest  conditions  superior  to 
those  indicated  in  the  statutes  of  the  mining  gilds 
of  Bohemia  and  Saxony.  “  Hygienic  conditions 
in  the  mines,  ventilation  of  the  pits,  precautions 
against  accident,  bathing  houses,  time  of  labor 
(eight  hours  daily  and  sometimes  less),  supply  of 
the  necessaries  of  life  at  fair  prices,  scale  of  wages, 
care  of  the  sick  and  disabled,  etc., —  no  detail 

1 

seems  to  have  been  lost  sight  of.”  (u  Gilds,” 
Catholic  Encyclopedia .) 

Nor  were  the  legitimate  methods  of  trade 
unionism  questioned  as  in  the  post-Reformation 
days.  Thus  the  principle  of  the  closed  shop  was 
universally  acknowledged.  Unless  a  man  was 
willing  to  bear  the  burdens  which  trade  organiza¬ 
tion  implied,  and  to  abide  by  the  just  standards  it 
prescribed,  he  was  not  permitted  to  share  in  its 


CHURCH  AND  LABOR  ORGANIZATIONS  173 

privileges  or  even  to  practise  the  trade  as  a  mas¬ 
ter  workman.  To  make  this  just  it  was  neces¬ 
sary,  however,  that  no  reasonable  difficulty 
should  exist  in  gaining  admission  to  a  gild,  and 
that  the  trade  union  should  be  as  careful  of  the 
consumer  as  of  its  own  membership.  Such  was 
the  attitude  of  the  gilds,  where  in  the  first  place  a 
moderate  income  was  assured  to  everyone,  and  in 
the  second  place  the  welfare  of  the  consumer  was 
not  one  whit  less  jealously  guarded  by  the  estab¬ 
lishment  of  fixed  just  prices  and  by  securing  for 
him  fair  measure  and  perfect  quality  in  all  the 
goods  produced. 

The  policy  of  the  closed  shop,  however,  be¬ 
comes  immoral  when  admission  into  the  union  is 
made  difficult  for  non-members,  so  that  all  quali¬ 
fied  workers  can  no  longer  gain  admittance  on 
reasonable  terms.  The  same  holds  true  when  no 
sufficient  reason  for  this  policy  exists,  as  when  the 
inconvenience  caused  to  non-unionists  is  out  of 
proportion  to  the  good  accomplished. 

The  training  of  apprentices,  too,  was  most 
strictly  provided  for  by  the  gilds.  When  an  op¬ 
pressive  limitation  of  apprentices  was  in  many 
instances  at  length  introduced  the  gilds  were  al¬ 
ready  in  their  religious  as  well  as  economic  de- 


174 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


cline.  Such  a  limitation  clearly  becomes  unjust 
when  the  policy  is  dictated  by  selfishness,  so  that 
skilled  workers  are  so  few  that  they  can  command 
abnormally  high  wages.  This  is  an  injustice  to 
the  men  excluded  and  to  the  consumer  who  must 
bear  the  final  inconvenience.  No  such  abuse  ex¬ 
isted  in  the  halcyon  days  of  Catholicity  when 
apprentices  received  the  most  careful  technical, 
moral  and  religious  training  from  their  masters. 

A  new  factor  now  appeared  in  the  industrial 
world.  It  was  the  Reformation.  The  effect  of 
the  new  individualism,  transferred  from  religion 
to  economics,  was  highly  disastrous,  as  has  been 
shown.  It  necessarily  resulted  in  the  concentra¬ 
tion  of  enormous  wealth  in  the  hands  of  a  few  and 
the  general  oppression  and  exploitation  of  the 
many. 

Upon  the  destruction  of  the  monasteries,  which 
had  always  supported  the  suffering  and  the  needy, 
there  followed  also  the  deterioration  of  the  craft 
gilds,  which  had  been  the  strength  and  protection 
of  labor  and  might  in  better  times  have  suc¬ 
cessfully  met  the  changed  conditions  in  the  eco¬ 
nomic  order.  But  oppressive  industrial  legisla¬ 
tions  now  succeeded  one  another,  until  stripped 
of  all  his  most  precious  rights  and  shackled  in  all 


CHURCH  AND  LABOR  ORGANIZATIONS  1 75 

his  essential  liberties,  the  worker  was  relentlessly 
delivered  over  to  the  mercy  of  a  rapacious  em¬ 
ployer,  free  to  interpret  the  Gospel  according  to 
his  own  preconceived  and  selfish  notions.  Labor 
organizations  came  to  be  regarded  as  crime  and 
conspiracy.  Authority  in  religion  had  been  de¬ 
stroyed  wherever  the  new  doctrines  were  accepted 
so  that  no  one  was  authorized  to  decide  in  matters 
of  justice  and  morality.  This  was  the  function 
which  Christ  had  given  to  His  divinely-established 
Church.  In  rejecting  her  it  was  obvious  that  eco¬ 
nomic  anarchy  would  likewise  follow  the  anarchy 
introduced  into  religion. 

We  are  all  familiar  with  the  great  material 
changes  which  now  took  place  in  the  world  of  in¬ 
dustry.  But  the  oppression  of  labor  and  the  ex¬ 
ploitation  of  helplessness  and  poverty  such  as  de¬ 
veloped  after  the  time  of  the  Reformation  and 
had  been  prepared  for  by  previous  religious  indif¬ 
ference,  were  not  necessitated  by  the  invention  of 
machinery  and  the  subsequent  industrial  expansion. 
They  were  due  to  the  rejection  of  the  morality 
of  the  Church  and  the  consequently  economic  in¬ 
dividualism,  together  with  the  enforcement  of 
individual  bargaining. 

It  is  therefore  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  the 


176  THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 

present  strained  condition  between  capital  and 
labor,  which  Socialism  is  striving  to  aggravate,  is 
largely  the  result  of  the  apostasy  from  the  Church, 
and  with  it  of  the  loss  of  all  religious  authority, 
of  all  certainty  in  faith,  of  all  sure  and  safe  guid¬ 
ance  in  the  path  of  morality  and  of  all  that 
strength  of  the  Sacraments  so  sadly  needed  to 
support  both  capital  and  labor  in  their  tempta¬ 
tions  to  selfishness  and  greed.  Only  in  propor¬ 
tion,  as  men  shall  once  more  acknowledge  those 
great  truths  and  principles  which  the  Church  has 
sacredly  guarded  through  all  the  centuries  can 
any  lasting  solution  of  the  labor  problem  be  pos¬ 
sible.  Without  this  precaution  organized  labor 
itself  will  but  degenerate  into  a  tyranny  of  god¬ 
lessness  to  replace  the  old  despotism  of  individ¬ 
ualistic  capital.  For  one  evil  spirit  that  is  driven 
out  seven  others  will  return,  and  the  latter  state 
of  society  will  be  worse  than  the  former. 

Socialism,  or  its  revolutionary  principles  where 
Socialism  itself  is  not  adopted,  can  have  no  other 
outcome.  Professedly  it  takes  no  account  of  re¬ 
ligion;  in  practice  it  has  upon  every  opportunity 
and  in  every  country  shown  itself  a  bitter  opponent 
of  Christianity.  Its  most  famous  leaders  were 
not  merely  atheistic,  as  individuals  of  any  party 


CHURCH  AND  LABOR  ORGANIZATIONS  177 

may  be,  but  many  openly  held  that  Socialism  itself 
is  incompatible  with  Christianity. 

Socialism,  in  a  word,  has  been  the  disorganizing 
force  in  labor  unionism.  It  prevented  the  hearty 
cooperation  of  all  labor  elements  within  the  same 
trade  unions,  by  insisting  upon  principles  and 
methods  to  which  Christian  laborers  could  not 
subscribe,  and  by  seeking  to  spread  among  them 
an  irreligious  and  immoral  literature.  Hence  the 
necessity,  before  the  war,  of  founding  everywhere 
throughout  Europe  the  splendidly  organized 
Christian  or  Catholic  trade  unions.  Such  unions 
might,  under  normal  circumstances,  likewise  have 
been  founded,  but  could  then  have  become  an  in¬ 
tegral  part  of  the  local  trade  union  movement, 
giving  only  the  greater  assistance  because  of  their 
staunch  adherence  to  Catholic  training  and  Cath¬ 
olic  principles.  Every  effort  was  made  by  Social¬ 
ists  to  slander  these  unions,  so  that  entirely  false 
reports  were  spread  in  their  regard. 

The  condition  to  which  a  vast  proportion  of  the 
labor  organizations  in  Europe  was  reduced 
through  Socialistic  influence  is  thus  described  by 
Pope  Leo : 

Associations  of  every  kind,  and  especially  those  of  workingmen, 
are  now  far  more  common  than  heretofore.  As  regards  many  of 
these  there  is  no  need  at  present  to  inquire  whence  they  spring, 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


I78 

what  are  their  objects,  or  what  the  means  they  employ.  There 
is  a  good  deal  of  evidence,  however,  which  goes  to  prove  that 
many  of  these  societies  are  in  the  hands  of  secret  leaders,  and 
are  managed  on  principles  ill-according  with  Christianity  and 
the  public  well-being;  and  that  they  do  their  utmost  to  get  within 
their  grasp  the  whole  field  of  labor,  and  force  workingmen 
either  to  join  them  or  to  starve.  Under  these  circumstances  Chris¬ 
tian  workingmen  must  do  one  of  two  things:  either  join  associa¬ 
tions  in  which  their  religion  will  be  exposed  to  peril,  or  form  as¬ 
sociations  among  themselves  —  unite  their  forces  and  shake  off 
courageously  the  yoke  of  so  unrighteous  and  intolerable  an  op¬ 
pression.  No  one  who  does  not  wish  to  expose  man’s  chief  good 
to  extreme  risk  will  for  a  moment  hesitate  to  say  that  the  second 
alternative  should  by  all  means  be  adopted.  (“  The  Condition 
of  Labor.”) 

Labor  organizations  based  upon  the  teaching 
of  Christ,  founded  upon  the  universal  Brotherhood 
of  man  and  Fatherhood  of  God,  repudiating  all 
doctrine  of  hatred  and  class  antagonism,  whether 
in  principle  or  practice,  standing  for  equal  justice 
for  employer  and  employed,  have  ever  found  in 
the  Church  their  foremost  champion. 

It  was  the  Church  which  in  her  earliest  period 
emancipated  labor  from  the  servile  condition  to 
which  paganism  had  reduced  it.  It  was  the 
Church  which  in  the  age  of  the  great  Fathers  and 
Doctors  used  in  labor’s  defense  language  so  strong 
and  emphatic  that  one  who  has  studied  their  writ¬ 
ings  in  disconnected  passages  and  apart  from  their 
historic  setting,  might  imagine  that  he  can  find  in 


CHURCH  AND  LABOR  ORGANIZATIONS  1 79 

them  a  warrant  for  revolutionary  doctrine.  The 
revolution  which  the  Fathers  preached  and  which 
the  Church  insists  upon  is  the  revolution  of  the 
heart.  If  this  takes  place  there  will  be  no  need 
of  any  other ;  but  if  this  is  not  carried  out  all  others 
will  be  vain. 

Today  the  Catholic  Church  strongly  encourages 
all  labor  organizations  whose  principles  are  in  ac¬ 
cordance  with  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  Catholic 
laborers  in  particular  are  exhorted  to  stand  by 
each  other.  We  cannot,  furthermore,  too  heart¬ 
ily  endorse  the  movement  on  foot  to  establish 
Catholic  social  study  centers  in  every  city.  These 
may  be  erected  in  various  convenient  localities  so 
as  to  embrace  every  parish  of  the  city.  Speakers 
can  then  pass  in  rotation  from  one  center  to  the 
other,  as  was  planned  in  Toledo.  We  must  act 
in  a  corporate  manner,  not  as  politicians  after  So¬ 
cialist  methods,  but  as  Christians  safeguarding  our 
own  brethren  from  destruction.  We  mean  to 
cause  no  faction  in  the  labor  camp,  as  Socialism 
was  doing,  but  to  help  all  truly  Christian  and  re¬ 
ligious  labor  activities.  Organization  for  the 
laborer  is  a  necessity  of  our  times,  but  it  must  not 
be  permitted  to  overleap  the  bounds  of  justice  and 
of  charity.  Here  is  the  danger  in  our  day. 


l80  THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 

Over  against  the  immense  concentration  of 
capital,  organized  on  the  scale  of  a  continent,  as 
it  has  well  been  said,  have  arisen  labor  organiza¬ 
tions  developed  on  the  same  gigantic  plans  and 
equally  portentous.  “  It  is  quite  as  possible,” 
remarked  Dr.  Gladden  in  an  address  delivered  to 
Protestant  theological  students,  “  for  labor  organ¬ 
izations  as  for  organizations  of  capital  to  become 
‘  drunk  with  power,’  and  to  push  their  claims  and 
demands  beyond  all  the  limits  of  reason  and  jus¬ 
tice.”  This  is  only  too  true,  and  we  are  express¬ 
ing  no  antagonism  to  labor  unionism  when  we 
earnestly  warn  it  against  these  dangers. 

The  principles  which  must  guide  trade  unionists 
in  the  matter  of  strikes  and  trade  agreements  we 
have  already  sufficiently  explained.  A  special 
chapter  has  been  devoted  to  the  sympathetic 
strike.  An  additional  word  must  here  be  said 
concerning  that  other  weapon  at  times  used  by 
trade  unionists,  the  boycott. 

The  primary  boycott,  directed  against  the  of¬ 
fending  employer,  is  not  unjust  if  there  is  question 
of  a  serious  injustice  against  the  laborers  and  no 
gentler  method  will  prove  effective.  This  is  ob¬ 
vious  since  there  is  then  question  of  just  self- 
defense.  The  secondary  boycott,  which  is  directed 


CHURCH  AND  LABOR  ORGANIZATIONS  I  S  I 

against  an  u  innocent  third  party  ”  for  refusing  to 
assist  the  primary  boycott,  is  similar  in  nature  to 
the  sympathetic  strike.  It  is  obvious,  therefore, 
that  the  secondary  boycott  must  in  general  be  con¬ 
sidered  immoral  and  can  be  permitted  in  extreme 
cases  only.  The  frequency  of  abuses  in  the  use 
of  this  weapon  have  induced  many  to  wish  for  its 
legal  prohibition.  It  usually,  moreover,  demands 
sacrifices  from  the  “  innocent  third  party  ”  which 
are  out  of  proportion  to  the  claims  the  boycotters 
may  have  to  his  support.  Yet  it  may  be  justified 
where  there  is  question  of  securing  more  human 
conditions  for  sweated  labor.  In  no  boycott  may 
the  ordinary  signs  of  charity  be  discontinued 
which  the  law  of  God  requires. 

As  regards  the  practice  of  picketing  during 
strikes,  no  objection  can  be  taken  so  long  as  physi¬ 
cal  violence  is  not  implied  or  threatened,  and  only 
reasonable  methods  of  moral  persuasion  are  ap¬ 
plied.  In  all  these  cases  abuses,  as  we  all  know, 
have  been  frequent,  and  no  one  should  more 
strongly  censure  and  oppose  them  than  the  trade 
unionists  themselves. 

We  must  always  remember  that  in  encouraging 
labor  unions  Pope  Leo  XIII  had  in  mind  the  truly 
Catholic  associations  and  under  no  circumstances 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


182 

Socialistic  or  radical  unions  which  ignore  those 
sound  Christian  principles  that  alone  can  save  so¬ 
ciety,  dignify  labor,  and  glorify  God,  for  whom 
alone  labor  and  capital  and  society  exist.  Listen 
to  Pope  Leo’s  description  of  the  ideal  union : 

We  may  lay  it  down  as  a  general  and  lasting  law  that  work¬ 
ingmen’s  associations  should  be  so  organized  and  governed  as  to 
furnish  the  best  and  most  suitable  means  for  attaining  what  is 
aimed  at,  that  is  to  say,  for  helping  each  individual  member  to 
better  his  condition  to  the  utmost  in  body,  mind  and  property. 
It  is  clear  that  they  must  pay  special  and  chief  attention  to  the 
duties  of  religion  and  morality,  and  that  their  internal  discipline 
must  be  guided  very  strictly  by  these  weighty  considerations; 
otherwise  they  would  lose  wholly  their  special  character  and  end 
by  becoming  little  better  than  those  societies  which  take  no  ac¬ 
count  whatever  of  Religion. 

What  advantage  can  it  be  to  a  workingman  to  obtain  by  means 
of  a  society  all  that  he  requires  and  to  endanger  his  soul  for 
lack  of  spiritual  food?  “What  doth  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain 
the  whole  world  and  suffer  the  loss  of  his  own  soul?”  This, 
as  Our  Lord  teaches,  is  the  mark  of  character  that  distinguishes 
the  Christian  from  the  heathen.  “  After  all  these  things  do  the 
heathens  seek.  .  .  .  Seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  His 
justice,  and  all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto  you.” 

Let  our  associations,  then,  look  first  and  before  all  things  to 
God ;  let  religious  instruction  have  therein  the  foremost  place, 
each  one  being  carefully  taught  what  is  his  duty  to  God,  what 
he  has  to  believe,  what  to  hope  for,  and  how  he  is  to  work  out 
his  salvation;  and  let  all  be  warned  and  strengthened  with  spe¬ 
cial  care  against  wrong  principles  and  false  teaching.  Let  the 
workingman  be  urged  and  led  to  the  worship  of  God,  to  the 
earnest  practice  of  religion,  and,  among  other  things,  to  the  keep¬ 
ing  holy  of  Sundays  and  holydays.  Let  him  learn  to  reverence 
and  love  Holy  Church,  the  common  Mother  of  us  all ;  and  hence 
to  obey  the  precepts  of  the  Church  and  to  frequent  the  Sacra¬ 
ments,  since  they  are  the  means  ordained  by  God  for  obtaining 


CHURCH  AND  LABOR  ORGANIZATIONS  1 83 

forgiveness  of  sin  and  for  leading  a  holy  life.  (“  The  Condition 
of  Labor”) 

If  in  some  countries  such  organizations  cannot 
now  be  established,  the  non-Catholic  unions,  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  spirit  of  the  directions  given  by 
Pope  Pius  X,  are  at  least  to  be  supplemented  by 
special  organizations  which  will  afford  the  laborer 
all  that  spiritual  guidance,  Sacramental  strength 
and  religious  insight  into  the  social  question  that 
may  enable  him  on  all  occasions  to  champion  the 
cause  of  charity  and  justice  and  to  promote  true 
Christian  principles  wherever  the  interests  of  labor 
are  concerned.  Secular  unions  to  which  Catholics 
belong  should  be  preserved  by  them  from  all  theo¬ 
ries  and  practices  in  contradiction  to  the  teachings 
of  the  Gospel  of  Christ  and  of  His  Holy  Church. 
When  the  labor  unions  of  a  country  become  Social¬ 
istic  it  is  obvious  that  Catholics  must  form  their 
own  independent  labor  organizations.  Justice, 
charity  and  the  welfare  of  immortal  souls  require 
this  wherever  it  is  possible. 

The  principle  of  the  Church  in  her  insistence 
upon  the  right  and  utility  of  labor  organizations 
is  daily  more  fully  recognized.  The  period  of 
individual  bargaining  is  rapidly  approaching  its 
end.  The  laissez-faire  attitude  towards  labor 


184 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


problems,  which  followed  upon  the  Reformation 
and  was  all  in  favor  of  the  economically  stronger 
employer,  is  fast  passing  into  the  limbo  of  forgot¬ 
ten  things.  Catholics  will  evidently  have  a  most 
important  part  to  play  in  the  future  development 
of  labor  organization  and  cannot  prepare  them¬ 
selves  for  it  too  faithfully,  carefully  and  consci¬ 
entiously. 


CHAPTER  XVII 


SOCIAL  LEGISLATION 

IT'S  coming  yet,  for  a ’  that,”  Burns  sang  in  a 
fine  elation  of  triumphant  optimism,  “  That 
man  to  man,  the  warld  o’er,  shall  brothers 
be  for  a’  that!  ”  To  make  this  possible,  religion 
must  doubtless  be  the  prime  influence  in  the  lives 
of  men.  Without  it  there  can  never  be  any  true 
brotherhood  of  man.  But  after  religion  itself, 
and  prompted  and  directed  by  it,  the  most  po¬ 
tent  means  at  our  command  is  intelligent  social 
legislation. 

Brotherhood  is  the  thought  uppermost  in  the 
minds  of  all  today.  It  has  never  been  fully  real¬ 
ized  in  any  epoch  of  modern  history  except  among 
the  early  Christian  communities  and  in  certain 
periods  of  the  Ages  of  Faith.  We  cannot  hope  to 
restore  it  again  except  by  the  reunion  of  all  men  in 
the  one  true  Fold  of  Christ.  So  will  all  mankind 
be  one  in  Him.  But  while  our  best  efforts  should 
be  given  to  bringing  about  this  happy  consumma- 

185 


1 86 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


tion,  we  may  not  pause  in  our  social  labors  while 
we  are  striving  to  attain  that  supreme  end.  The 
immediate  remedy,  ready  at  hand,  is  social  legis¬ 
lation  animated  by  the  spirit  of  Christ  and  of  His 
Church.  For  such  legislation  we  shall  find  the 
entire  world  receptive. 

No  social  legislation  can  ever  be  final.  Eco¬ 
nomic  conditions  are  in  a  constant  state  of  fluctua¬ 
tion,  and  periods  of  tranquility  are  followed  by 
renewed  contests  of  conflicting  interests.  There 
have  been  centuries  of  comparative  rest,  when  so¬ 
cial  adjustments  had  been  satisfactorily  established 
by  law  and  the  status  of  industry  and  commerce 
changed  but  slightly.  Such  occurred  in  the  Mid¬ 
dle  Ages.  On  the  other  hand  there  were  critical 
periods  when  entire  phases  of  economic  life  or  the 
entire  economic  system  of  nations,  or  of  the  civil¬ 
ized  world  itself,  imperatively  called  for  a  recon¬ 
struction.  After  a  sudden  and  violent  struggle 
and  at  the  cost  of  a  deluge  of  blood,  or  else  peace¬ 
fully  and  in  the  silent  lapse  of  years,  a  new  social 
order  rose  out  of  the  old.  Today  the  world  is  ap¬ 
parently  entering  into  another  great  climacteric. 
A  clear  historic  retrospect  is  needed  if  we  would 
rightly  face  the  possibilities  of  the  future. 

The  hour  of  such  a  change  had  struck  when  at 


SOCIAL  LEGISLATION  I  87 

the  dawn  of  modern  history,  at  a  time  when  cen¬ 
tralized  governments  were  unknown  and  industrial 
life  had  not  yet  begun  in  the  renascent  civilization, 
the  early  European  farmers,  unable  to  protect 
themselves  against  piratic  invasions  and  in  con¬ 
stant  danger  from  marauders,  sought  shelter  under 
the  shadow  of  some  powerful  stronghold  and 
rendered  personal  service  in  return  for  their  safety. 
In  the  same  manner  their  own  lords  found  it  neces¬ 
sary  to  give  fealty  to  still  mightier  overlords,  and 
thus  an  organized  resistance  against  all  foes  and 
disturbers  of  the  peace  was  made  possible.  So  the 
feudal  system  arose  with  its  undoubted  benefits 
and  its  obvious  evils,  yet  withal  a  powerful  pro¬ 
tection  in  those  days  of  turbulence  and  force. 

But  the  time  came  when  the  evils  of  the  system 
began  to  outweigh  its  benefits.  The  villeins  fled 
into  the  rapidly  growing  cities  and  the  gilds  arose 
with  their  high  ideals  of  a  free  Christian  manhood. 
The  hour  of  a  second  transformation  had  struck. 
Yet  at  first  the  complete  change  became  effective  in 
the  cities  alone.  Often  the  freedom  of  the  craft 
gilds  was  won  only  after  periods  of  violence  and 
bloodshed;  in  other  instances,  as  in  England,  a 
quiet  and  peaceful  development  took  place.  A 
further  crisis,  however,  was  inevitable.  It  came 


1 88 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


with  the  peasants’  war  that  followed  hard  upon 
the  awful  havoc  of  the  Black  Death,  comparable 
only  to  the  world  war  itself,  no  less  universal  and 
no  less  terrible  in  its  destruction  of  human  life. 

In  all  the  preceding  economic  crises,  which  far 
outweighed  in  importance  the  political  struggles 
of  kings  and  nations,  social  legislation  had  been 
the  one  means,  after  religion  itself,  of  securing 
peace  and  prosperity  to  all  classes.  The  more 
perfectly  this  legislation  was  adapted  to  each 
changing  economic  period  and  the  more  perfectly 
it  applied  the  unalterable  Christian  principles  of 
justice  and  charity,  the  happier  was  the  entire 
population. 

A  new  and  momentous  crisis  awaited  the  world 
at  the  very  period  of  the  Reformation.  It  was  not 
in  any  way  connected  with  the  latter,  but  arose 
inevitably  out  of  the  economic  circumstances  of  the 
time,  the  invention  of  machinery  and  the  immense 
growth  of  the  city  population,  not  to  mention  other 
similar  conditions  that  vitally  affected  the  methods 
of  production,  and  consequently  called  for  the  most 
sweeping  changes  in  social  legislation.  The  ele¬ 
ments  for  a  peaceful  readjustment  were  not  want¬ 
ing  and  could  be  found  in  the  existing  gilds.  But 
the  Reformation  rendered  this  readjustment  im- 


SOCIAL  LEGISLATION 


189 


possible  and  delayed  for  almost  four  centuries  the 
needed  social  legislation  which  might  at  once  have 
obviated  all  the  social  misery  and  economic  chaos 
that  was  to  follow.  Nothing  indeed  could  have 
been  more  foreign  to  the  gild  principles  than  u  The 
concentration  of  so  many  branches  of  trade  in  the 
hands  of  a  few  individuals,”  as  Pope  Leo  XIII 
described  the  economic  situation  which  resulted, 
“  so  that  a  small  number  of  very  rich  men  have 
been  able  to  lay  upon  the  masses  of  the  poor  a  yoke 
little  better  than  slavery  itself.” 

This  four-century-long  retardation  and  retro¬ 
gression  of  social  legislation,  this  casting-back  of 
the  masses  into  a  new  state  of  industrial  serfdom 
far  worse  than  the  old  from  which  they  had  been 
freed,  this  degradation  of  labor  from  the  exalted 
dignity  to  which  it  had  attained  in  the  ages  of 
Catholic  Faith,  was  due,  as  we  have  previously 
said,  to  the  false  individualism  which  came  as  a 
consequence  of  the  Reformation.  Directly  it  was 
brought  about  by  the  paralysis  inflicted  upon  the 
gilds. 

Robbed  by  the  “  reformed  ”  autocracies  of  the 
time,  that  found  in  Protestantism  a  most  advan¬ 
tageous  economic  ally,  the  gilds  were  not  merely 
deprived  of  those  immense  possessions,  which, 


190  THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 

though  consecrated  to  religion,  had  been  in  great 
part  devoted  to  charity,  but  they  were  above  all 
things  debarred  from  the  religious  influences  that 
had  been  the  mainspring  of  their  enlightened  social 
legislation.  Thus,  in  England,  they  became  little 
more  than  convenient  spoils  for  king,  queen,  or 
court  favorites.  Highly  approved  methods  were 
invented  of  turning  their  revenues  into  sources  of 
private  emolument  for  these  exalted  patrons. 
Hence  the  impossibility  of  meeting  the  new  social 
conditions  by  fitting  social  legislation  and  adapting 
to  new  economic  developments  the  old  principles 
of  religion,  brotherhood  and  cooperation.  The 
powers  of  economic  legislation  were  retained  ex¬ 
clusively  in  the  hands  of  the  rich,  who  used  them 
for  their  own  purposes  of  exploitation. 

The  fact  is  that  today  we  are  taking  up  the 
thread  of  social  legislation  precisely  where  it  was 
broken  off  at  the  Reformation.  We  are  seeking 
to  apply  to  the  changed  conditions  of  our  time  the 
principles  of  brotherhood  and  cooperation  which 
the  Church  applied  in  her  gilds  400  years  ago,  and 
which  have  been  ignored  during  the  intervening 
period  in  our  dominant  economic  system  of  indus¬ 
try  and  commerce.  But  how  shall  this  be  done 
without  the  aid  of  the  Church? 


SOCIAL  LEGISLATION 


191 

The  danger  of  radicalism,  never  greater  than  in 
periods  like  the  present,  can  be  met  in  no  other 
way  than  by  constructive  legislative  action.  It  is 
a  folly  to  imagine  that  it  can  be  destroyed  by  legal 
repression.  Remove  the  crime  of  profiteering  and 
the  edge  is  taken  from  anarchism.  The  cure  must 
begin  with  attacking  the  source  of  the  evil.  In 
the  same  way  Socialism  cannot  be  fought  intelli¬ 
gently  by  directly  assailing  its  principles  and  ig¬ 
noring  the  corresponding  ethical  unsoundness  of 
the  capitalistic  system.  Both  extremes  are  equally 
reprehensible  and  perilous.  Both  are  equally  op¬ 
posed  to  all  true  rights  of  property  and  individual 
liberty.  In  adhering  rigidly  to  our  Catholic  prin¬ 
ciples,  in  preventing  by  sound  legislation  the  future 
concentration  of  wealth  in  the  hands  of  a  few,  in 
promoting  anew  our  ideals  of  cooperation  and  of 
the  widest  possible  diffusion  of  ownership  among 
the  many,  we  shall  not  merely  follow  our  Catholic 
pre-Reformation  traditions,  but  we  shall  find  our¬ 
selves  in  agreement  with  the  ablest  minds  of  our 
day.  More  than  all  this,  we  shall  be  in  advance 
of  our  own  age,  the  heralds  of  a  new  era  of  social 
justice  through  Christian  legislation. 

History  has  taught  us  her  lesson.  If  the  world 
is  indeed  entering  into  a  period  of  great  economic 


192 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


changes,  as  all  admit,  it  is  important  that  we  our¬ 
selves  direct  these  changes  along  peaceful  lines 
and  towards  Christian  ideals.  It  is  not  an  op¬ 
tional  task,  but  a  duty  which  confronts  the  Church. 
Thus  shall  we  be  able  to  preserve  the  world  from 
the  bloody  cataclysms  of  the  past  which  have 
so  frequently  preceded  the  epochs  of  economic 
transitions. 

No  mere  surface  legislation  will  suffice  today. 
We  must  strike  boldly  at  the  very  root  of  economic 
evils.  Why  attempt  merely  to  lop  off  the  hydra- 
heads  of  innumerable  secondary  evils  instead  of 
reaching  the  very  heart  of  the  social  injustice? 
We  do  not  want  a  multiplicity  oi  laws  that  defeat 
their  own  purpose,  but  measures  of  such  far-reach¬ 
ing  and  vital  importance  as  the  legal  minimum 
wage. 

Without  a  sufficient  wage  for  the  reasonable  sup¬ 
port  of  the  laborer’s  family,  it  is  inevitable  that 
wife  and  children  will  be  driven  from  the  home 
into  the  factory.  The  consequence  is  a  further 
depression  of  wages  and  frequent  unemployment 
owing  to  the  unnecessary  competition  of  women 
and  children  with  men.  Hence,  as  a  further  con¬ 
sequence,  there  follows  the  need  of  endless  pro¬ 
tective  legislation  for  women  workers  who  under 


SOCIAL  LEGISLATION 


193 


such  conditions  are  underpaid  and  overworked,  of 
countless  child-labor  laws,  delinquency  laws  and 
provisions  for  defectives,  since  at  their  very  birth 
the  little  ones  have  often  been  blighted  and 
stunted.  Hence  the  record  of  criminality  and  the 
strength  of  the  rising  tide  of  anarchy,  the  increased 
danger  of  birth-control  and  the  excessive  infant- 
mortality  rate.  Irreligion,  too,  plays  its  part  in 
these  evils;  but  irreligion  itself  is  in  great  part 
fostered  by  the  absence  of  the  mother  from  the 
home  and  the  want  of  a  fitting  home  itself. 

From  the  lack  of  a  living  wage  follows  in  the 
next  place  the  need  of  State  support  for  social  in¬ 
surance  of  every  kind.  Thus  the  workingman 
becomes  a  ward  of  the  State,  though  his  contribu¬ 
tions  of  honest  labor  to  the  social  welfare  entitle 
him  to  an  honorable  independence.  Obligatory 
social  insurance  will  indeed  remain  a  wise  provision 
under  any  system  of  social  laws,  but  with  a  living 
wage  the  laborer  will  be  able  to  pay  in  full  his  own 
rate,  thus  preserving  his  self-respect  and  not  trans¬ 
ferring  to  the  State  the  expenses  saved  to  the 
employer.  These  problems  have  already  been 
alluded  to  in  the  chapter  on  “  The  State  and  La¬ 
bor.”  So  far  as  State  help  is  at  any  time  required 
it  must  obviously  be  given. 


194 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


In  a  discussion  of  social  legislation  we  may  not 
pass  over  the  question  of  social  insurance  here 
touched  upon.  It  is  one  of  the  problems  that  is 
most  actively  debated.  Social  insurance  legisla¬ 
tion  has  been  proposed  as  a  provision  against  sick¬ 
ness,  old  age,  unemployment,  invalidity  and  acci¬ 
dent  on  the  part  of  the  laborer.  Few  apparently 
understand  the  real  principles  on  which  such  legis¬ 
lation  rests.  In  general  it  may  be  regarded  as 
merely  a  substitute  for  an  adequate  wage.  Hence 
it  would  seem  to  follow  that  in  strict  justice  the 
burden  of  such  taxation,  in  so  far  as  the  laborers 
themselves  cannot  reasonably  be  expected  to  bear 
it,  should  fall  upon  the  delinquent  employers  in 
proportion  as  they  are  neglecting  to  pay  a  proper 
wage.  In  practice  however  such  a  fair  distribu¬ 
tion  of  taxation  is  impossible.  Hence  we  find 
State,  laborers,  and  employers  all  sharing  at  times 
in  bearing  the  common  burden  of  social  insurance. 

The  difficulty  of  an  equitable  adjustment  is  ob¬ 
vious  so  long  as  a  living  wage  is  not  paid  to  every 
worker.  Such  a  wage  would  include  a  sufficient 
sum  enabling  the  laborer  himself  to  make  due  pro¬ 
vision  for  future  emergencies  and  to  pay  in  its 
entirety  the  full  assessment  of  whatever  social 
taxation  might  still  be  deemed  necessary.  To 


SOCIAL  LEGISLATION 


195 


render  the  payment  of  such  a  wage  normally  pos¬ 
sible  for  every  employer  the  articles  manufac¬ 
tured  must  necessarily  be  sold  at  a  price  that  will 
enable  the  employer  to  meet  any  added  expendi¬ 
ture,  and  at  the  same  time  yield  him  a  sufficient 
though  moderate  margin  of  profit  after  paying  a 
living  wage. 

In  a  word,  no  satisfactory  solution  can  be  found 
for  the  problem  until  prices,  profits,  and  wages 
are  kept  within  the  limits  of  a  reasonable  minimum 
on  the  one  side  and  a  reasonable  maximum  on  the 
other,  excluding  alike  all  oppression  and  excessive 
gains.  So  alone  can  the  welfare  of  every  class 
of  citizens  be  duly  consulted:  of  the  consumer,  the 
laborer  and  the  employer.  This,  we  admit,  is  not 
possible  without  a  certain  measure  of  State  con¬ 
trol.  But  public  control  for  all  these  purposes 
is  in  full  accord  with  our  Catholic  traditions. 

In  the  meantime  social  students  must  be 
warned,  under  present  conditions,  not  to  place  too 
much  confidence  in  the  existing  methods  of  State 
insurance  for  labor  emergencies.  They  should 
regard  them  as  a  mere  makeshift,  a  transitional 
stage  towards  an  adequate  wage  which  will  free 
the  laborer  from  undue  State  dependence. 

The  latest  revelation  in  regard  to  Germany’s 


196 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


social  policies  may  serve  as  a  lesson,  not  indeed 
to  destroy  interest  in  social  insurance,  but  to  instil 
prudence.  Germany’s  compulsory  sickness  and 
workingmen’s  accident  insurance  began  in  1883, 
and  her  invalidity  and  old-age  insurance  in  1889. 
Yet  we  are  now  told  that  in  1913,  after  about  a 
quarter  of  a  century  of  this  regime,  Dr.  Frederic 
Zahn,  of  Munich,  reported  at  a  hygienic  congress 
that  the  number  of  paupers,  or  persons  drawing 
from  the  public  relief  fund,  had  steadily  grown. 
In  Berlin  alone  it  had  increased  from  31,358  in 
1891  to  55,601  in  1909.  Pauper  burials  were  of 
frequent  occurrence.  Similar  conditions  are  re¬ 
corded  for  other  German  cities,  though  Govern¬ 
ment  statistics  were  not  drawn  up  or  were  ad¬ 
visedly  kept  secret.  The  first  reason  for  its  in¬ 
sufficiency  was  the  small  pittance  it  allowed  the 
laborer.  At  all  events  social  insurance  neither 
stemmed  the  tide  of  discontent,  as  the  enormous 
Socialist  vote  indicated,  nor  did  it  serve  to  prevent 
that  worst  of  economic  evils,  pauperism,  which 
first  appeared  with  the  Reformation  and  was  its 
direct  consequence.  We  doubt  whether  a  larger 
insurance  would  have  solved  the  difficulty.  It 
might  readily  have  created  new  ones.  The  les¬ 
son  is  that  social  insurance  is  indeed  to  be  heartily 


SOCIAL  LEGISLATION 


197 


promoted  so  far  as  may  seem  desirable,  but  must 
not  be  permitted  to  take  the  place  of  a  living 
wage. 

Separate  consideration  must  be  given  to  work¬ 
men’s  compensation  laws.  No  later  than  1913  a 
joint  commission,  appointed  by  the  Civic  Federa¬ 
tion  for  the  study  of  such  laws  in  the  various 
States  of  the  Union,  thus  reported  its  general 
satisfaction  at  their  successful  operation : 

The  litigation  between  employer  and  employee  arising  out  of 
personal  injuries  has  practically  ceased  to  exist  in  most  of  the 
States  which  have  enacted  compensation  laws.  The  objections 
raised  by  either  side  prior  to  the  enactment  of  compensation  acts 
have  been  mostly  removed  by  experience  under  the  acts.  The 
principle  of  compensation  is  now  thoroughly  established ;  the 
only  problems  for  the  future  relate  to  the  nature  of  the  legislation 
and  the  methods  of  administration. 

The  principle  in  question,  as  conceived  in  mod¬ 
ern  legislation,  is  that  the  economic  cost  of  acci¬ 
dents  should  be  considered  a  part  of  the  necessary 
expense  of  production.  While  the  suffering  must 
be  borne  by  the  injured  workman,  and  a  certain 
expense  is  entailed  upon  the  employer,  the  general 
burden  will  be  divided  among  the  consumers  of 
the  article  whose  production  necessarily  implies  a 
constant  risk  of  accidents.  “  No  justification,” 
says  Father  Cathrein,  S.J,,  “  can  be  urged  for 


198  THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 

placing  the  burden  of  insurance  upon  the  tax-pay¬ 
ers,  except  in  so  far  as  an  important  branch  of 
industry  would  not  be  able  to  raise  the  required 
insurance  money  without  incurring  destruction.” 
(“  Moralphilosophie,”  II,  art.  IX.)  It  is  here 
presumed  that  all  due  precautions  against  acci¬ 
dents  have  been  taken  by  the  employer. 

Another  legal  measure  upon  which  special  in¬ 
sistence  is  to  be  placed,  though  only  indirectly  con¬ 
nected  with  the  subject  of  this  volume,  is  the 
Mothers’  Pension  law,  which  will  enable  children 
to  be  nurtured  and  reared  in  their  own  home  and 
by  the  mother  to  whom  God  has  given  them  in 
place  of  being  committed  to  institutional  care.  In 
the  acceptance  of  the  principle  underlying  this  law 
we  behold  another  victory  of  the  ideals  that  have 
ever  been  promoted  by  the  Church,  however  much 
they  may  for  a  time  have  run  counter  to  modern 
“  enlightenment.”  There  is  no  social  principle 
of  the  Church  which  is  not  today  finding  approval 
in  the  most  progressive  circles  of  genuinely  scien¬ 
tific  thought. 

Careful  consideration  is  likewise  to  be  given  to 
the  question  of  prison  labor.  It  is  recommended 
by  trade  unionists  that  every  prisoner  should  be 
taught  a  useful  trade,  so  that  on  his  restoration  to 


SOCIAL  LEGISLATION 


199 


liberty  he  may  become  a  useful  member  of  society. 
Trade  unionists  in  the  United  States  further  op¬ 
pose  the  contract  labor  system  and  recommend  the 
New  York  system,  which  calls  for  use  by  the  State 
of  prison-made  articles,  as  the  best  that  has  yet 
been  devised.  The  system  of  leasing  convicts  to 
contractors  is  thus  attacked  in  the  Chattanooga 
Central  Labor  Journal: 


The  convict  lease  system  is  proven  by  legislative  investiga¬ 
tion  to  be  guilty  of  the  following  civic  crimes:  Inhumane 
treatment  of  the  convicts  themselves;  deprivation  of  their 
families  of  the  support  they  are  entitled  to;  encouragement 
and  breeding  of  tuberculosis  from  close  confinement;  illegiti¬ 
mate  interference  with  manufacture  and  industry  of  the  state; 
unfair  treatment  of  laboring  people  of  the  state  by  the  intro¬ 
duction  of  cheap  prison  labor  in  competition  with  them;  de¬ 
priving  the  farmers  and  others  of  a  good  public  road  system 
by  failure  to  employ  the  convicts  in  this  connection. 


Means  should  be  devised,  in  particular,  to  pre¬ 
vent  the  destitution  and  untold  misery  that  often 
fall  upon  the  innocent  family,  whose  bread-win¬ 
ner  is  under  prison  sentence.  Special  attention, 
therefore,  deserves  to  be  given  to  the  above  clause 
which  accuses  the  convict  leases  of  depriving  fam¬ 
ilies  of  the  support  of  which  they  may  perhaps 
stand  in  the  bitterest  need.  An  intelligent  prison 
labor  system  will  enable  the  dependents  to  live 
upon  the  prison  earnings  of  the  man  who  can  no 


200 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


longer  provide  for  them  in  any  other  way.  It 
may  likewise  enable  him  to  lay  aside  something 
for  his  future  rehabilitation. 

Other  legislation  of  a  fundamental  nature  has 
already  been  touched  upon  in  previous  chapters, 
such  as  the  discussion  ending  the  chapter  on 
“  Monopolistic  Prices.” 

In  the  solution  of  all  these  problems  the  clear 
teaching  of  the  Church  is  imperatively  needed,  and 
nothing  in  the  whole  range  of  social  science  will 
prove  so  thoroughly  satisfactory  as  that  teaching 
itself.  It  would  be  a  fatality  as  well  as  a  folly  for 
Catholics  to  overlook  their  immense  responsibili¬ 
ties  of  bringing  that  teaching  before  the  world  at 
this  critical  period  of  history,  when  civilization  is 
in  many  ways  being  shaped  anew.  Shall  we  leave 
its  fate  to  the  destructive  forces  of  social  revolu¬ 
tion,  or  shall  we  provide  that  it  is  wisely  fashioned 
by  the  loving  hands  of  Christ? 


CHAPTER  XVIII 


DEMOCRATIC  CONTROL  OF 
INDUSTRIES 

THE  dominance  of  wealth,  or  the  particu¬ 
lar  capitalistic  regime  under  which  the 
great  masses  of  the  people  are  pos¬ 
sessed  of  little  but  their  labor  power,  while  the 
ownership  of  the  instruments  of  production  is 
concentrated  in  the  hands  of  a  few  powerful  em¬ 
ployers,  is  known  as  the  “  Servile  State.”  There 
can  be  no  industrial  peace  where  such  conditions 
exist,  no  matter  how  wages  may  increase  and  hours 
of  labor  be  shortened.  Democratic  forms  of 
government  are  in  themselves  no  solution. 

“  While  the  Constitution  had  increasingly  taken 
on  democratic  forms,”  wrote  Cardinal  Bourne  in 
reference  to  England,  “  the  reality  underlying 
these  forms  had  been  increasingly  plutocratic. 
Legislation  under  the  guise  of  ‘  social  reform  ’ 
tended  to  mark  off  all  wage-earners  as  a  definitely 
servile  class.”  Against  such  conditions  a  violent 
reaction  had  already  set  in  before  the  Great  War. 


201 


202 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


In  defining  the  Catholic  attitude  towards  the 
democratic  control  of  industry  it  is  necessary  to 
distinguish  between  the  different  kinds  of  produc¬ 
tive  property.  It  is  the  great  mistake  of  syndical¬ 
ism,  Socialism,  and  similar  panaceas  that  they  en¬ 
tirely  overlook  the  intricate  complexity  of  the 
modern  social  problem.  Remedies  warranted  to 
cure  all  evils  must,  to  say  the  least,  be  looked  upon 
with  great  suspicion.  Yet  it  is  true  likewise  that 
the  very  optimism  with  which  they  are  advertised 
unfortunately  obtains  for  them  both  credence  and 
a  trial. 

The  first  class  of  productive  property  to  which 
a  form  of  public  ownership  may  be  applied  are 
obviously  our  public  service  utilities.  There  can 
be  no  objection,  from  a  Catholic  point  of  view,  to 
a  transition  in  these  instances  from  private  to 
municipal  or  national  ownership,  provided  always 
it  is  really  necessary  for  the  common  good  and 
that  a  proper  compensation  is  offered  to  previous 
owners.  In  regard  to  these  enterprises  experi¬ 
ence  has  shown  that  public  ownership  has  in  cer¬ 
tain  conditions  and  places  been  of  no  slight  ad¬ 
vantage,  while  in  other  instances  it  has  no  less 
plainly  proved  disastrous  in  a  financial  way. 
Whatever  method  is  demanded  for  the  common 


DEMOCRATIC  CONTROL  OF  INDUSTRIES  203 

good  should  be  boldly  favored  by  every  Catholic. 
But  the  greatest  caution  is  needed  here. 

The  same  rule  applies  to  natural  monopolies. 
They  may  be  either  publicly  or  privately  owned 
and  managed  accordingly  as  the  general  welfare 
may  require  in  any  given  case.  No  private  owner 
of  public  service  utilities  or  of  natural  monopolies 
has  any  reason  for  complaint  if,  after  due  com¬ 
pensation  has  been  made  to  him,  his  business  is 
absorbed  by  the  city  or  State.  Obviously,  how¬ 
ever,  the  sole  consideration  that  may  influence  the 
public  authorities  in  taking  such  action  is  the  rea¬ 
sonable  conviction  that  it  is  necessary  for  the 
common  good.  The  same  principles  apply  to 
other  agencies  of  production  where  public  interest 
demands  a  public  ownership.  This,  of  course,  is 
only  a  last  resort  when  other  means  fail. 

But  in  all  such  transference  of  properties  the 
greatest  circumspection  must  be  used.  Full  ac¬ 
count  is  to  be  taken  of  the  undeniable  fact  that 
public  management  implies  increased  expenditure, 
aside  from  the  advantages  that  may  come  with  in¬ 
creased  centralization.  Under  equal  conditions 
private  owners  can  obtain  far  greater  results  at 
less  cost  than  will  ever  be  possible  under  public 
ownership.  Yet  in  spite  of  this  fact  the  elimina- 


204 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


tion  of  the  enormous  profits  that  frequently  are 
reaped  at  the  public  expense  by  private  capitalists 
may  still  at  times  leave  a  substantial  gain  for 
the  people. 

Another  difficulty  which  suggests  itself  here  is 
the  power  given  to  politicians  who  may  prove 
no  less  unscrupulous  than  the  criminal  profiteers. 
The  question  therefore  to  be  carefully  pondered  in 
each  single  instance  is  whether  a  strict  and  thor¬ 
ough  Government  control  may  not  be  more  advan¬ 
tageous  than  public  ownership.  The  former,  it 
would  appear,  should  at  all  events  be  tried  before 
any  step  is  taken  toward  nationalization.  In  the 
latter  instance  we  must  consider  likewise  the  diffi¬ 
culty  of  ejecting  from  power  a  political  party  that 
can  count  on  the  support  of  so  large  an  army  of 
office-holders. 

The  farther  an  industry  is  removed  from  the 
nature  of  a  public  service  utility  or  a  natural 
monopoly,  the  greater  is  the  presumption  in  favor 
of  private  ownership  as  the  method  most  condu¬ 
cive  to  the  common  good,  until  finally  we  arrive 
at  forms  of  industry  where  individual  enterprise  is 
absolutely  essential  for  success.  In  the  same  man¬ 
ner  Government  control  and  supervision,  where 
public  ownership  is  not  required,  will  be  in  pro- 


DEMOCRATIC  CONTROL  OF  INDUSTRIES  205 


portion  either  to  the  nearness  of  an  industry, 
in  its  nature,  to  a  public  service  utility  or  its  re¬ 
moteness  from  that  utility.  Says  the  Rev.  Her¬ 
bert  Lucas,  S.  J.,  in  the  Month: 

In  the  case  of  those  industries  which  have  not  this  character 
[of  public  service  utilities]  it  should  be  sufficient  to  protect  the 
wage-earner  and  the  consumer  from  exploitation  by  means  of 
a  graduated  tax  on  the  profit  of  large-scale  concerns;  so  that  the 
fullest  measure  of  liberty  may  be  left  to  those  which,  to  the  gen¬ 
eral  benefit  of  the  public,  are  winning  for  themselves  a  moderate 
prosperity  under  the  stimulus  of  private  enterprise.  {March, 
1918.) 

The  question  of  labor’s  participation  in  in¬ 
dustrial  management  will  be  considered  in  the 
author’s  subsequent  volume  on  “  Democratic  In¬ 
dustry.”  1 

A  word  should  be  said  here  of  “  National 
Gilds,”  often  spoken  of  as  “  Gild  Socialism.” 

A  national  gild  is  a  combination  of  all  labor  of  every  kind, 
administrative,  executive,  productive,  in  any  particular  indus¬ 
try.  It  includes  those  who  work  with  their  brains  and  those 
who  contribute  labor  power.  Administrators,  skilled  and  un¬ 
skilled  labor  —  every  one  who  can  work  —  are  all  entitled  to 
membership. —  S.  G.  Hobson. 

If  based  upon  an  enforced  collectivist  or  Social¬ 
ist  system,  this  plan  would  obviously  meet,  in  its 
own  degree,  with  the  strictures  passed  upon  So- 

1  See  appendix  of  the  present  volume  for  American  Bishops’ 
labor  program  on  this  subject. 


206 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


cialism.  No  objection  could  be  urged  against  it 
if  voluntary,  in  the  sense  of  Bishop  Ketteler’s  free 
communistic  brotherhoods;  or  if  cooperative,  in 
the  sense  that  the  productive  property  thus  op¬ 
erated  and  managed  would  be  owned  individually 
and  not  merely  collectively  by  the  workers.  Gov¬ 
ernment  ownership  of  particular  industries,  with 
industrial  control,  wholly  or  in  part,  by  the  em¬ 
ployees,  can  be  justified  if  due  compensation  is 
made  to  previous  owners  and  the  public  good 
really  demands  it.  The  latter  is  the  point  at  issue. 

There  is  one  form  of  public  ownership,  how¬ 
ever,  against  which  all  must  combine,  although  a 
wide  agitation  is  at  present  carried  on  in  its  favor, 
and  that  is  the  universal  nationalization  of  the 
land.  There  could  be  no  more  terrible  error.  If 
there  is  one  thing  certain  in  the  entire  range  of  eco¬ 
nomic  science  it  is  that  the  land  should,  so  far  as 
possible,  be  owned  by  the  men  who  cultivate  it, 
and  not  by  a  Socialist  cooperative  commonwealth, 
a  State  monopoly,  or  any  other  form  of  Govern¬ 
ment  absolutism.  It  is  this  one  instance  which 
Pope  Leo  XIII  particularly  selected  to  urge  the 
widest  reasonable  distribution  of  private  owner¬ 
ship  among  the  people.  It  would  be  an  injustice 
and  a  crime  to  alienate  for  public  ownership  the 


DEMOCRATIC  CONTROL  OF  INDUSTRIES  207 

land  that  is  tilled  by  the  calloused  hands  and 
moistened  by  the  sweat  of  the  farmer.  Let  vol¬ 
untary  cooperation  produce  the  utmost  results,  but 
let  us  not  yield  to  the  lure  of  land-nationalization. 
Pope  Leo  thus  states  the  Single-Tax  fallacy: 

We  are  told  that  it  is  right  for  private  persons  to  have  the 
use  of  the  soil  and  the  fruit  of  the  land,  but  that  it  is  unjust 
for  any  one  to  possess,  as  owner,  either  the  land  on  which  he  has 
built  or  the  estate  which  he  has  cultivated. 

To  absorb  the  rental  value  of  the  land  is  equi¬ 
valent  to  denying  the  right  of  ownership. 

Those  who  assert  this  do  not  perceive  that  they  are  robbing 
man  of  what  his  own  labor  has  produced.  For  the  soil  which  is 
tilled  and  cultivated  with  toil  and  skill  utterly  changes  its  condi¬ 
tion:  it  was  wild  before,  it  is  now  fruitful;  it  was  barren,  and 
now  it  brings  forth  in  abundance.  That  which  has  thus  altered 
and  improved  it  becomes  so  truly  part  of  itself  as  to  be  in  great 
measure  indistinguishable  and  inseparable  from  it.  Is  it  just 
that  the  fruit  of  a  man’s  sweat  and  labor  should  be  enjoyed  by 
another?  As  effects  follow  their  cause,  so  it  is  just  and  right 
that  the  results  of  labor  should  belong  to  him  who  has  labored 
(“The  Condition  of  Labor.”) 

The  “  unearned  increment  ”  is  not  confined  to 
the  land.  Abuses  connected  with  it  must  be  rem¬ 
edied  by  more  discriminating  methods.  Just  tax¬ 
ation  is  not  “  single  ”  but  various. 

Socialism  proceeds  still  further  in  its  demand 
for  the  public  ownership  and  management  of  the 
means  of  production.  But  while  attempting  to 


208 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


vest  this,  in  a  vague  manner,  in  the  entire  com¬ 
monwealth  it  fails  even  more  egregiously  than 
capitalism  had  done  in  answering  man’s  natural 
desire  for  private  ownership.  While  public  owner¬ 
ship  of  public  utilities  or  of  certain  natural  monop¬ 
olies  may,  under  given  circumstances,  be  deemed 
desirable,  yet  the  great  bulk  of  the  productive 
property  within  a  nation  can  best  be  privately 
owned  for  the  reasons  we  have  already  indicated. 
The  main  problem  is  to  ascertain  how  this  private 
ownership  can  be  most  widely  distributed  among 
the  people. 

The  consciousness  on  the  part  of  the  laborer, 
under  Socialism,  that  his  means  of  livelihood 
would  belong  to  everybody  in  common  could 
neither  satisfy  his  instinct  for  ownership  nor 
stimulate  his  energy.  Production  would  lag  and 
its  cost  would  rise.  All  avenues  towards  eco¬ 
nomic  betterment  would  be  closed  to  him,  for 
strikes  would  be  labor  mutiny.  Hence  revolution 
and  counter-revolution  would  be  the  monotonous 
history  until  the  last  state  would  be  far  worse  than 
the  first.  Socialism  would  not  bring  democratic, 
but  bureaucratic  control  of  industry. 

There  is  doubtless  a  great  truth  in  the  Socialist 
contention  that  wastage  both  in  production  and 


DEMOCRATIC  CONTROL  OF  INDUSTRIES  209 

distribution  can  be  prevented  by  centralization. 
Of  this  full  account  is  taken  in  the  Catholic  ac¬ 
ceptance  of  Government  ownership  or  Govern¬ 
ment  control  wherever  it  can  serve  the  common 
good.  Yet  it  is  equally  true  that  there  can  as 
readily  be  an  over-centralization  which  will  not 
merely  interfere  with  private  rights  and  individual 
liberty,  but  which  will  lead  to  confusion,  to  bureau¬ 
cratic  tyranny  and  the  deadly  retardation  of  pro¬ 
duction  even  in  the  most  essential  necessities  of 
life. 

The  Church  fully  perceives  the  elemental  truths 
contained  in  Socialism,  but  they  are  merely  her 
own  Catholic  principles  seen  through  the  distorted 
Marxian  lens.  Whatever  is  best  and  most  truly 
progressive  in  modern  social  doctrines  was  put 
into  practice  by  her  more  than  five  centuries  ago, 
and  it  is  amusing,  if  not  irritating,  for  Catholic 
sociologists  to  hear  these  commonplaces  of  Cath¬ 
olic  tradition  proclaimed  as  modern  discoveries. 

But  public  ownership  is  not  the  only  means, 
as  many  wrongly  imagine,  of  attaining  to  a  just 
democratic  control  of  industry.  It  is  largely  in 
the  field  of  cooperation  that  this  is  to  be  achieved. 
Between  public  service  utilities  or  such  great 
monopolies  as  closely  approximate  to  them,  and 


210 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


industrial  undertakings  which  of  their  very  nature 
call  for  individual  management  as  the  essential 
factor  of  success,  there  lies  a  wide  and  almost  in¬ 
terminable  province  of  cooperative  enterprise. 
Of  this  we  shall  treat  more  fully  in  the  following 
chapter. 

Reference  may  here  be  made  to  Mr.  Penty’s 
theory  which  would  bring  about  democratic  con¬ 
trol  of  industry  through  “  production  for  quality.” 
This  would  restore  the  handicrafts,  so  far  as  pos¬ 
sible.  The  worker,  to-day,  is  too  frequently  the 
mere  slave  of  the  machine  and  has  lost  all  that 
joy  in  labor  which  comes  from  the  artistic  produc¬ 
tion  of  a  complete  article.  The  ideal  contem¬ 
plates  a  renewal  of  the  medieval  gilds.  Surplus 
wealth  would  be  expended,  now  as  then,  in  noble 
works  of  architecture  and  art,  instead  of  being 
sunk  into  the  manufacture  of  articles  beyond  de¬ 
mand,  with  the  consequent  unemployment  and 
human  misery. 

The  idea  is  beautiful  and  we  could  wish  it  to 
come  true.  It  must  be  tested  by  the  principles 
applied  above  to  Gild  Socialism.  Mr.  Penty’s 
theory  culminates  in  Local  Gilds. 


CHAPTER  XIX 


METHODS  OF  COOPERATION 


DURING  the  packers’  wage-arbitration  dis¬ 
pute  in  Chicago,  in  1918,  some  interest¬ 
ing  revelations  were  made.  The  head 
of  one  of  the  firms  admitted  that  the  net  profits  of 
his  business  for  the  year  1916  had  been  $20,000,- 
000.  At  the  same  time  it  was  announced  by  the 
counsel  for  the  trade  unions  that  the  20,000  em¬ 
ployees  of  that  same  firm  were  together  receiving 
only  $13,400,000,  or  not  nearly  two-thirds  the 
amount  absorbed  by  a  comparatively  small  number 
of  stockholders.  Commenting  editorially  upon 
the  testimony  in  this  case  the  New  York  Evening 
Mail  wrote: 


Mr.  Nelson  Morris,  twenty-six  years  old,  endowed  with  a  sal¬ 
ary  of  $75,000  a  year,  admited  that  neither  he  nor  Mr.  Ferris, 
who  determined  employees’  wages,  ever  visited  their  homes. 
Mr.  Morris  said  he  had  never  looked  over  a  budget  showing  the 
cost  of  living  for  a  laboring  man  with  a  family.  The  plain 
truth  is  that  this  newer  generation  of  industrial  lords  grew  up  in 
luxury,  apart  from  the  toilers  who  earn  their  profits  for  them. 
To  them  the  workers  are  like  machinery,  to  be  bought  at  the 
cheapest  price  attainable,  to  be  run  at  the  highest  possible  speed 

211 


212 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


the  longest  number  of  hours,  to  be  scrapped  when  worn  out  and 
replaced  by  new. 

We  are  fully  aware  that  this  does  not  represent 
the  attitude  of  all  employers.  Yet  it  gives  a  truth¬ 
ful  picture  of  the  results  that  followed  on  the 
dissociation  of  religion  from  industry  in  the  post- 
Reformation  capitalism.  Cannot  a  more  equit¬ 
able  plan  be  devised?  The  possibilities  of  public 
ownership  within  certain  limits,  and  the  necessity 
of  Government  regulation  or  supervision  in  other 
instances,  has  been  treated  in  the  previous  chapter. 
There  still  remains  the  most  important  of  all 
means  to  be  considered,  the  system  of  Coopera¬ 
tion. 

Few  realize  the  extent  to  which  this  “  medie¬ 
val  ”  plan  of  economics  had  again  been  adopted 
before  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  and  the  success 
with  which  it  met  in  many  various  fields.  Survey¬ 
ing  the  work  already  accomplished  by  it,  we  can 
readily  understand  the  possibilities  this  system 
would  offer  with  the  restoration  of  the  Catholic 
Faith  throughout  the  world.  Nowhere  are  we 
approaching  more  closely  to  the  expression  of 
Catholic  economic  thought.  Our  just  regard  for 
the  dignity  of  human  beings,  our  preference  of  the 
common  good  to  private  interests,  our  insistence 


METHODS  OF  COOPERATION  213 

upon  Government  control  and  oversight  of  indus¬ 
try  to  whatever  extent  it  may  be  required  for  the 
welfare  of  the  people,  our  countless  cooperative 
societies  already  bursting  into  full  blossom  in  every 
land,  and  withal  the  universal  aspiration  for  the 
brotherhood  of  all  mankind  —  what  are  all  these 
signs  of  our  time,  when  taken  at  their  best,  other 
than  Catholic  revivals?  There  is  need  now  of 
that  Faith  only  which  first  gave  substance  to  these 
conceptions  and  popular  movements  and  which 
can  bestow  on  them  the  fulness  of  a  Christian  life. 
Without  this  Faith  the  new  social  tendencies  can 
never  reach  their  coveted  perfection.  They  may 
even  degenerate  into  wTrongful  and  dangerous 
developments. 

To  begin  with,  the  system  of  cooperative  bank¬ 
ing  has  struck  deep  root  and  will  continue  in  its 
prosperous  development.  Every  one  is  familiar 
with  the  success  of  the  Raiffeisen  credit  associa¬ 
tions.  These  or  similar  systems  of  cooperative 
banking  had  been  established  in  practically  every 
European  country  before  the  war.  The  main  in¬ 
centive  and  purpose  in  founding  them  was  to  en¬ 
able  the  poorer  classes,  particularly  upon  the  land, 
to  obtain  the  credit  which  the  commercial  banks 
refused  them  and  to  escape  the  merciless  system 


2  14 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


of  usury  to  which  they  were  in  consequence 
exposed.  Such  cooperative  credit  associations, 
formed  among  the  people,  exercised  moreover  the 
best  of  moral  influences,  and  taught  them  thrift  and 
self-respect. 

In  very  many  instances  these  cooperative  soci¬ 
eties  were  established  by  the  parish  priests.  Ac¬ 
cording  to  the  account  given  by  Father  Joseph  P. 
Archambault,  S.J.,  in  his  work  “  Le  Clerge  et 
1’ Action  sociale,”  the  first  popular  bank  in  Italy 
was  founded  by  a  Paduan  Jew.  The  cure  of 
Gombarare  soon  realized  its  possibilities  if  con¬ 
ducted  on  a  purely  Catholic  basis,  excluding  all 
idea  of  commercialism.  The  success  of  the  plan 
is  obvious  from  the  following  figures,  taken  from 
the  Civilta  Cattolica.  (Vol.  XII,  p.  671.)  We 
there  find  that  between  the  years  1883  and  1892 
the  enterprising  Jew  had  established  seventy-two 
banks.  But  about  this  time  the  work  of  the  cure 
of  Gombarare  began  to  attract  the  attention  of  his 
fellow  priests.  The  success  of  his  cooperative 
venture  at  once  called  forth  a  host  of  imitators. 
The  consequence  was  that  in  1893  the  Jew  founded 
three  and  in  1894  only  two  banks,  while  the  Cath¬ 
olics  during  the  same  years  established  respectively 
29  and  105  of  their  own  banks.  Raiffeisen  him- 


» 


METHODS  OF  COOPERATION  215 

self  thus  beautifully  explains  the  nature  and  pur¬ 
pose  of  the  cooperative  credit  system : 

A  loaning  and  savings  bank  should  in  a  manner  constitute  a 
single  family,  a  brotherhood  where  the  weak  are  supported  and 
borne  along  by  their  fellows,  where  the  associates  do  not  wait 
until  the  members,  one  after  another,  fall  into  actual  distress, 
but  where  of  their  own  accord  they  seek  out  those  who  stand  in 
need  of  assistance,  bringing  them  friendly  aid,  saving  them  from 
ruin,  doing  everything  for  the  good  of  each  individual  and  the 
good  of  the  entire  community.  The  work  is  carried  on  for  the 
love  of  God.  (“  Le  Clerge  et  PAction  sociale,”  pp.  80,  81.) 

Almost  equally  successful,  in  many  places,  have 
been  the  cooperative  stores.  It  is  estimated  vari¬ 
ously  that  between  one-third  and  one-fourth  of  the 
entire  population  of  Great  Britain  had  already 
participated  in  these  enterprises  before  the  out¬ 
break  of  the  war.  The  total  cooperative  sales  in 
that  country  for  the  year  1913  considerably  ex¬ 
ceeded  $600,000,000  and  there  were  thousands 
of  cooperative  stores  in  Great  Britain  alone.  The 
same  system  had  likewise  developed  in  Ireland. 
Describing  the  nature  of  these  stores  in  the  Irish 
Monthly  Cruise  O’Brien  writes: 

Here  you  have  an  association  of  persons  who  band  themselves 
together  to  run  a  retail  store  for  their  own  benefit.  The  first 
thing  to  be  noted  about  their  constitution  is,  that  thei:  member¬ 
ship  is  open  to  all,  and  accordingly  their  share  lists  cannot  be 
closed.  Here  is  one  difference  from  a  joint  stock  enterprise,  in 
which  the  share  list  is  closed  when  sufficient  capital  has  been 
obtained  in  order  that  the  existing  shareholder  may  obtain  the 


2l6 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


best  possible  amount  of  profit.  Again,  the  members  of  the  store 
propose  to  make  savings  and  not  profits  —  that  is  to  say,  they  do 
not  want  to  sell  to  those  who  are  not  members  in  order  to  ob¬ 
tain  a  profit  on  their  trade,  but  they  want  non-members  to  be¬ 
come  members  in  order  that  all  may  save  on  the  economy  which 
arises  from  collective  buying  and  from  the  elimination  of  the 
profits  which  the  retailer  takes  as  his  reward  for  distribution  of 
goods. 

We  are  at  once  reminded  of  the  wise  restric¬ 
tions  of  the  medieval  gilds  by  the  further  regula¬ 
tion  which  forbade  any  person  to  have  more  than 
£200  worth  of  capital  invested.  But  the  perfec¬ 
tion  of  the  fraternal  spirit  was  further  exemplified 
in  the  modern  European  system  of  cooperative 
stores  by  the  rule  which  conceded  but  one  vote 
to  each  shareholder,  whether  he  possessed  fifty 
shares  or  one  only.  Thus  the  poor  man  could 
exercise  the  same  right  and  power  in  controlling 
the  interests  of  the  business  as  his  more  well-to-do 
neighbor.  We  are  here  approaching  to  an  ideal 
understanding  of  what  may  be  accomplished  by 
voluntary  agreement  toward  attaining  to  a 
“  Democratic  control  of  industry.”  So  too  the 
interest  of  the  share  capital  itself  is  limited  to  a 
sum  not  exceeding  five  per  cent,  so  that  the  soci¬ 
eties,  whose  purpose  is  to  effect  cheap  purchases, 
may  not  be  perverted  into  profit-making  schemes. 
Another  wise  regulation:  “The  division  of  the 


METHODS  OF  COOPERATION  2iy 

savings,”  we  are  further  told,  “  is  in  proportion 
to  the  amount  of  purchases  made  by  each  member, 
and  it  is  a  part  of  the  cooperative  creed  that  some 
portion  of  the  savings  should  be  shared  in  by  the 
society’s  employees.”  To  stimulate  thrift  and 
self-reliance  the  purchases  can  be  made  in  cash 
only. 

We  may  well  rub  our  eyes  and  wonder  whether 
this  is  England  and  Ireland  of  the  twentieth  cen¬ 
tury,  or  England  and  Ireland  of  the  thirteenth, 
fourteenth,  and  fifteenth  centuries.  It  is  the  spirit 
of  brotherhood  returned  to  earth;  it  is  the  wear- 
ing-away  of  the  iron  bonds  of  the  Reformation; 
it  is  true  appreciation  of  the  worth  of  a  man  above 
the  worth  of  his  wealth;  it  is  the  supreme  ideal  of 
each  for  all  and  all  for  each;  it  is  the  first  premon¬ 
ition  of  the  passing-away  of  a  system  which  made 
of  profits  the  end  of  man,  and  man  the  slave  of 
profits.  It  is  Catholicism  resurgent  in  economic 
life.  Yet  the  work  of  restoring  an  order  of  so¬ 
ciety  in  which  capital  and  labor  shall  meet  on  a 
more  equitable  footing,  and  the  benefits  of  private 
ownership  shall  be  more  widely  shared  by  the 
people,  has  only  begun.  The  great  task  lies  be¬ 
fore  us.  But  there  are  other  and  still  more  im¬ 
portant  developments  of  the  cooperative  system  to 


218 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


be  considered.  With  these  we  shall  deal  in  the 
following  chapter. 

A  word  should  here  be  said  about  the  system  of 
profit  sharing.  To  make  this  method  truly  coop¬ 
erative  the  worker  must  be  admitted  not  merely  to 
a  share  in  the  profits,  but  likewise  to  a  share  in  the 
management  of  the  business.  This  stage  has 
actually  been  reached  in  not  a  few  instances. 

The  usual  form  of  profit-sharing  in  the  United 
States  has  consisted  in  simply  dividing  among  the 
employees  a  certain  percentage  of  the  general  or 
total  profits  of  an  establishment,  in  proportion  to 
their  wages;  or  else  separate  departments  only 
of  a  business  have  declared  an  extra  wage  or  share 
of  profits  to  their  employees.  In  some  instances, 
however,  a  share  in  the  management  was  likewise 
conceded  at  least  to  the  reliable  employees.  This 
is  ordinarily  done  through  a  distribution  of  the 
voting  stock  as  part  or  the  whole  of  the  profits 
that  are  shared,  and  constitutes  a  form  of  genuine 
cooperation. 

When  honestly  purposed  and  conducted,  profit- 
sharing  is  doubtless  of  advantage  to  the  employee, 
since  under  such  conditions  it  supposes  that  a  fair 
wage  is  already  being  paid.  Under  no  conditions 
should  it  be  permitted  to  take  the  place  of  a  living 


METHODS  OF  COOPERATION  219 

wage.  The  same  is  to  be  said  of  the  bonus  plan, 
in  which  the  excess  wage  has  no  direct  relation  to 
the  profits  of  the  company  and  the  latter  enters 
into  no  engagement  to  pay  it  regularly.  All  these 
methods  are  apt  to  be  looked  upon  with  suspicion 
by  labor  when  it  fears  that  they  are  merely  used 
as  a  means  to  prevent  a  raise  in  wages. 

The  ends  sought  by  the  employers  themselves 
can  be  briefly  summarized  from  the  volume  on 
“  Profit-Sharing,”  composed  by  three  manufac¬ 
turers  and  two  university  professors  who  made  an 
extensive  study  of  this  subject  in  the  United  States 
in  1915.  It  promotes  a  prevention  of  waste,  an 
increase  in  personal  effort  and  therefore  in  general 
efficiency,  a  more  reliable  labor  stability,  a  greater 
assurance  of  industrial  peace,  the  furtherance  of 
effective  management,  and  the  improvement  of 
the  spirit  of  cooperation.  In  the  past  the  applica¬ 
tion  of  the  system  in  the  United  States  has  usually 
been  confined  to  skilled  labor  or  even  merely  to 
office  employees.  The  more  closely  profit-sharing 
approaches  to  genuine  cooperation  the  more 
heartily  will  it  be  welcomed.  No  one  will  deny 
that  it  has  often  been  well-intentioned.  In  itself 
it  cannot,  of  course,  be  considered  as  an  adequate 
solution  of  the  industrial  problem. 


CHAPTER  XX 


POSSIBILITIES  OF  COOPERATION 


THE  cooperative  bank  and  the  cooperative 
store  have  met  with  undeniable  success. 
They  have  long  ago  passed  the  period 
of  trial  and  experiment  and  fully  answer  the  pur¬ 
pose  for  which  they  were  established.  The  ques¬ 
tion  of  main  importance  is  the  extension  of  the  co¬ 
operative  principle  to  the  field  of  production.  Its 
most  complex  and  difficult  application  is  found  in 
the  cooperative  ownership  and  management  of 
industrial  enterprises. 

The  cooperation  here  considered  is  entirely  vol¬ 
untary,  and  neither  communistic  nor  Socialistic, 
since  it  is  based  upon  the  private  and  not  upon  the 
public  ownership  of  the  instruments  of  production. 
They  are  to  belong  to  the  men  who  operate  them 
according  to  the  individual  shares  that  each  one 
possesses  in  the  cooperative  enterprise.  To  pre¬ 
vent  deterioration  into  the  old  abuses  of  capitalism 


220 


POSSIBILITIES  OF  COOPERATION 


221 


the  number  of  shares  that  could  be  held  by  any  in¬ 
dividual  would  obviously  be  strictly  limited,  so  that 
ownership  of  the  means  of  production  could  not 
again  be  absorbed  by  a  few  more  powerful,  more 
clever  or  more  unscrupulous  members.  The  old 
gildsmen  wisely  understood  that  it  is  by  such  means 
only  that  the  greatest  happiness  and  prosperity  of 
the  greatest  number  can  be  assured  and  social  sta¬ 
bility  and  contentment  secured. 

In  opposing  the  private  ownership  of  capital, 
such  as  would  likewise  be  maintained  here  by  the 
workingmen,  Socialists  often  refer  to  the  com¬ 
munism  of  the  early  Christian  Church.  They  fail 
to  mention  that  this  was  not  universal,  but  purely 
local;  that  no  mention  is  made  of  communistic 
productive  enterprises  operated  by  the  early  Chris¬ 
tians;  that  even  in  the  localities  where  a  form  of 
Christian  communism  doubtless  existed  it  was 
purely  voluntary  and  obliged  no  one  to  participate 
in  it  as  a  condition  for  embracing  Christianity;  and 
finally  that  after  all  it  proved  to  be  an  economic 
failure,  like  practically  all  other  communistic  or 
Socialistic  enterprises.  The  only  notable  excep¬ 
tion  has  been  the  communism  of  the  Religious 
Orders  of  the  Church.  The  latter  is  possible  be¬ 
cause  it  is  based  upon  the  threefold  vows  of  pov- 


222 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


erty,  chastity  and  obedience,  and  is  centered  in  the 
love  of  God. 

That  productive  cooperation  in  itself  is  not  im¬ 
practicable  must  be  manifest  to  all  from  its  suc¬ 
cessful  application  upon  the  land,  where  both  pro¬ 
duction  and  distribution  are  frequently  managed 
cooperatively.  Thus  in  the  Netherlands  alone 
66,600,000  pounds  of  butter  were  produced  by  co¬ 
operatives  in  1910,  and  only  27,500,000  pounds 
by  private  manufacturies.  Many  other  products 
are  cooperatively  prepared  on  the  land  for  gen¬ 
eral  marketing,  as  varied  in  their  nature  as  cheese, 
bacon  and  wine.  Both  purchasing  and  selling  are 
done  cooperatively,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  middle¬ 
man  and  the  great  gain  of  the  farmer.  Similarly 
the  larger  and  more  intricate  machinery  is  co¬ 
operatively  owned.  In  Italy  Catholic  cooperative 
societies  have  rented  the  land  itself.  “  Often  ma¬ 
chinery,  oxen  and  utensils  are  owned  in  common,” 
writes  Borosini.  “  The  harvest  is  frequently  sold 
in  advance  to  cooperative  societies  in  the  neighbor¬ 
ing  town.”  The  cooperatives  in  these  instances 
are  jointly  responsible  for  the  rent  and  the  neces¬ 
sary  assurance  is  given  the  landowners  by  finan¬ 
cially  well-established  Catholic  organizations.  It 
may  surprise  many  to  learn  that  the  products  co- 


POSSIBILITIES  OF  COOPERATION 


223 


operatively  bought  and  sold  by  the  American  farm¬ 
ers  themselves,  as  early  as  1915,  amounted  to 
$1,400,000,000  for  that  year. 

To  illustrate  the  democratic,  or  better  still,  the 
Christian  ideal  that  can  be  attained  under  coopera¬ 
tion  we  shall  quote  again  from  the  article  on  “  The 
Meaning  of  Cooperation  ”  by  Cruise  O’Brien  in 
the  Irish  Monthly  for  November,  1917.  He  is 
describing  the  cooperative  creamery  whose  mem¬ 
bers  united  to  own  the  means  of  turning  the  milk 
produce  of  their  farms  into  butter,  and  of  mar¬ 
keting  it  to  the  best  advantage : 


Here  [as  in  the  cooperative  store]  we  have  the  same  rule  as 
to  open  membership,  although  it  would  be  much  more  profitable 
for  the  members  of  a  creamery  to  close  their  share  list  when 
they  were  strong  enough ;  and  although,  indeed,  it  often  involves 
a  certain  sacrifice  on  their  part  to  keep  their  membership  open 
to  newcomers  at  a  time  when  the  original  members  have  borne 
the  heat  and  burden  of  the  day-  Here,  also,  we  have  a  rule 
limiting  the  amount  of  shares  which  the  member  may  hold  and 
limiting  the  interest  which  he  may  receive  on  his  share  capital. 

Each  member  is  paid  for  his  milk  at  regular  intervals  — 
usually  each  month  —  and  is  given,  to  begin  with,  a  price  less 
than  the  value  it  will  ultimately  fetch  as  a  manufactured  arti¬ 
cle.  The  difference  in  value  is  made  up  at  the  end  of  the  year, 
and  represents  what  is  called  a  dividend,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
cooperative  store,  but  what  is  really  the  deferred  payment,  just 
as  in  the  cooperative  store  the  so-called  dividend  is  really  a 
saving. 

Finally,  the  cooperatively  organized  producer  in  his  creamery 
provides  for  a  bonus  to  his  employees,  just  as  the  cooperatively 
organized  consumer  in  his  store. 


224 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


As  outlined  here  the  system  of  cooperation  con¬ 
tains  all  the  idealism  of  brotherhood.  Like  all 
things  human  it  will  doubtless  have  its  weaknesses 
and  its  faults,  yet  it  approximates  most  closely  to 
the  Christian  spirit. 

But  we  now  come  to  the  most  crucial  question 
of  all.  Granting  that  cooperation  is  practical  in 
other  fields,  can  the  same  be  said  of  the  coopera¬ 
tive  ownership  of  industries  in  our  cities?  The 
difficulty  can  best  be  stated  in  the  words  of  Dr. 
Ryan  where  he  speakes  of  the  “  perfect  ”  form  of 
productive  cooperation,  the  only  one  considered 
here.  He  defines  it  as  that  form  in  which  “  all 
the  workers  engaged  in  a  concern  own  all  the  share 
capital,  control  the  entire  management,  and  re¬ 
ceive  the  whole  of  the  wages,  profits  and  interest.” 
Writing  of  conditions  as  they  existed  before  the 
war,  he  says: 


In  this  field  the  failures  have  been  much  more  numerous  and 
conspicuous  than  the  successes.  Godin’s  stove  works  at  Guise, 
France,  is  the  only  important  enterprise  of  this  kind  that  is  now 
in  existence.  Great  Britain  has  several  establishments  in  which 
the  workers  own  a  large  part  of  the  capital,  but  apparently 
none  in  which  they  are  the  sole  proprietors  and  managers.  The 
“  labor  societies  ”  of  Italy,  consisting  mostly  of  diggers,  masons 
and  bricklayers,  cooperatively  enter  into  contracts  for  the  per¬ 
formance  of  public  works,  and  share  in  the  profits  of  the  under¬ 
taking  in  addition  to  their  wages;  but  the  only  capital  that  they 
provide  consists  of  comparatively  simple  and  inexpensive  tools. 


POSSIBILITIES  OF  COOPERATION 


225 


The  raw  material  and  other  capital  is  furnished  by  the  public 
authority  which  gives  the  contract.  (“  Distributive  Justice,”  p. 
223.) 

Yet,  as  Dr.  Ryan  is  ready  to  admit,  the  ob¬ 
stacles  in  the  way  of  industrial  cooperation,  such 
as  the  risks  to  be  encountered  and  the  need  of  con¬ 
siderable  capital  and  directive  ability,  are  not 
insuperable.  What  has  been  accomplished  upon 
the  land  may  gradually  likewise  be  widely  accom¬ 
plished  in  the  city,  although  the  difficulties  will 
often  be  considerably  greater.  The  practical 
workings  of  such  a  cooperative  enterprise  are  thus 
described  by  Cruise  O’Brien: 


A  number  of  people,  who  are,  say,  bootmakers  by  trade,  form 
themselves  into  a  cooperative  society  in  order  to  carry  on  their 
work.  The  people  who  actually  make  the  boots  are  the  owners 
of  the  society.  They  elect  their  committee  from  among  them¬ 
selves;  they  provide  capital,  and  instead  of,  as  one  might  ex¬ 
pect,  taking  all  the  profits  for  themselves,  they  divide  the  profits 
between  labor,  capital  and  purchasers.  Their  other  rules  have 
exactly  the  same  features  as  we  have  noted  in  the  other  two 
types  of  society  which  we  have  touched  on  (i.e.  the  cooperative 
store  and  the  cooperative  creamery). 

The  difficulties  in  the  way  of  cooperative  pro¬ 
duction  are  in  the  first  place  the  large  sums  of 
capital  required  in  many  instances.  Yet  we 
know  that  billions  of  dollars  have  actually  been 
handled  annually  in  the  cooperative  banks  of  a 
single  country.  Thus  the  Schulze-Delitzsch  pop- 


2  26  THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 

ular  urban  banks  had  939  banks  affiliated  to  their 
national  federation,  and  there  were  ninety-six  non- 
affiliated  banks.  According  to  a  pamphlet  issued 
by  the  International  Institute  of  Agriculture  at 
Rome,  the  business  transacted  by  these  coopera¬ 
tive  banks  in  Germany  during  1910  amounted  to 
no  less  than  $3,231,801,035.  Yet  besides  these 
banks  there  existed  the  rural  cooperative  Raif¬ 
feisen  system.  The  management  of  the  former 
banks  was  conducted  along  strict  business  lines. 
Though  the  immense  sums  referred  to  did  not 
pass  through  any  single  hand,  yet  the  existence 
of  the  National  Federation  shows  a  completely 
developed  organization. 

The  second  difficulty  is  that  of  cooperative 
management.  Here  again  we  have  the  example 
of  the  Cooperative  Wholesale  Society  of  Man¬ 
chester  whose  sales  per  year  had  risen  to  $150,- 
000,000  before  the  war,  and  was  increasing  at 
the  rate  of  $5,000,000  annually.  Few  mercantile 
establishments  in  the  entire  world  have  ever  done 
so  large  a  business.  Yet  the  society  never  bor¬ 
rowed  and  had  money  to  loan.  The  wholesale 
society  was  made  up  of  membership  from  the  re¬ 
tail  societies  in  a  definite  proportion,  and  the  lat¬ 
ter  apparently  took  out  one  five  dollar  share  for 


POSSIBILITIES  OF  COOPERATION  227 


each  member.  In  reference  to  the  management, 
it  will  be  well  to  quote  the  report  regarding  it 
drawn  up  some  years  ago  by  the  United  Mine 
Workers  of  America : 

The  business  of  the  wholesale  cooperative  societies  is  man¬ 
aged  by  thirty-two  directors,  elected  by  the  local  societies.  These 
directors  give  their  entire  time,  at  a  salary  of  $1,750  per  annum. 
It  is  almost  unthinkable  for  the  average  American  business 
man  to  consider  a  proposition  of  this  kind:  thirty-two  men,  com¬ 
ing  up  from  the  ranks  of  ordinary  consumers,  by  popular  elec¬ 
tion,  conducting  an  enormous  business  more  economically  than 
the  large  establishments  of  trade  in  England,  and  giving  their 
best  efforts  entirely  for  the  motive  of  rendering  good  service 
and  securing  a  comfortable  salary,  with  the  honor  that  goes 
with  a  public  service  efficiently  performed.  We  should  judge 
from  what  we  learn  that  these  directors  are  more  devoted  to  their 
business  than  the  ordinary  business  man.  Their  efficiency  cannot 
be  challenged. 

Here  then  are  some  interesting  facts.  With 
all  this  said,  however,  we  cannot  fail  to  realize 
the  vast  difference  between  these  enterprises, 
which  are  creditors’  and  consumers’  plants,  and 
cooperative  production  as  exemplified  in  the  self- 
governing  work-shop.  Even  under  cooperation  it 
is  more  than  possible  that  one  class  of  workers 
may  oppress  and  exploit  another  if  religious  prin¬ 
ciples  are  set  aside. 

Yet  one  point  must  be  borne  in  mind:  that 
cooperative  production,  though  presenting  many 
difficulties  into  which  we  cannot  enter  here  and 


1228 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


which  have  long  prevented  it  from  attaining  to 
undoubted  success  like  other  cooperative  enter¬ 
prises,  may  in  the  future  be  carried  on  more 
auspiciously  under  Government  aid  and  oversight, 
so  far  as  this  may  be  required.  A  true  religious 
spirit,  such  as  the  Catholic  Church  could  infuse 
into  the  entire  movement,  would  certainly  lead  to 
success.  Progressive  taxation  of  incomes,  limita¬ 
tion  in  the  future  purchasing  of  shares,  definite 
regulations  regarding  the  shares  of  those  who 
no  longer  are  actively  engaged  in  their  respective 
industries,  stability  of  prices  to  prevent  the  evils 
of  excessive  competition,  and  other  similar 
methods,  might  yet  make  of  cooperation  a  sys¬ 
tem  which  may  become  a  leading  factor  in  social 
reconstruction.  In  all  probability  it  will  coexist 
with  other  forms  of  ownership,  both  private 
and  public,  and  a  more  perfect  Government 
regulation. 

Cooperative  production  differs  essentially  from 
Socialism  in  every  regard.  It  is  based  upon  the 
private  ownership  of  capital  by  all  the  workers, 
in  place  of  depriving  them  all  alike  of  this  bene¬ 
fit.  It  is  purely  constructive  in  its  nature  while 
Socialism  is  mainly  destructive  and  revolutionary. 
It  is  not  dependent  on  confiscation,  on  political 


POSSIBILITIES  OF  COOPERATION  229 

machination  or  even  upon  the  ballot,  but  must 
obtain  its  recognition  solely  through  superior  ef¬ 
ficiency  and  the  rightful  Government  protection. 
Where  the  Socialist  promises,  the  cooperator 
acts. 

Cooperative  production  differs  likewise  from 
Syndicalism.  The  latter  indeed  has  caught  some¬ 
thing  of  the  Catholic  gild  idea,  but,  left  without 
religious  influence,  it  has  failed  to  recognize  the 
two  most  fundamental  principles  of  social  life, 
authority  and  justice,  without  which  no  State  can 
flourish.  It  would  constitute  the  syndicates,  or 
labor  groups  of  each  industry,  the  exclusive 
owners  and  managers  of  the  enterprises  operated 
by  them.  But  the  manner  in  which  it  would  bring 
about  its  purpose  implies  both  the  destruction  of 
State  authority  and  the  abolition  of  the  rights  of 
private  owners.  The  syndicalist  idea  found  its 
first  expression  in  the  United  States  in  the  organ¬ 
ization  of  the  Industrial  Workers  of  the  World, 
the  notorious  I.  W.  W.  In  England  and  Ireland 
it  was  introduced  under  its  original  name. 

Had  the  Medieval  Gilds  been  preserved  from 
the  robbery  and  destruction  of  their  rights  and 
maintained  their  high  religious  ideals  unimpaired, 
they  might  readily  have  been  transformed  into 


230  THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 

successful  cooperative  industrial  societies.  So  the 
world  would  have  been  saved  the  unspeakable 
misery  and  oppression  that  followed  upon  the  ill- 
advised  Reformation.  There  was  no  need  of  a 
change  of  Catholic  doctrine,  which  was  Christian¬ 
ity  pure  and  simple,  but  a  need  of  living  up  to  it 
more  perfectly.  The  time  has  come  when  the 
principles  of  these  gilds  must  be  applied  anew, 
in  the  most  wise  and  just  way  possible,  to  our 
present  economic  conditions.  Yet  this  high  ideal 
will  be  impossible  of  realization  unless  we  restore 
religion  as  the  unifying  and  guiding  principle  of 
our  economic  life. , 

The  democratic  control  of  industry,  if  ever  it 
is  to  be  an  accomplished  fact  and  a  lasting  institu¬ 
tion,  must  be  based  upon  the  foundation  of  Catho¬ 
lic  principles.  It  will  consist  in  the  public  owner¬ 
ship  of  such  utilities  as  may  call  for  municipal 
or  national  management,  in  the  careful  and  scien¬ 
tific  regulation  of  others,  in  the  development  of 
cooperative  societies  which  will  most  probably 
flourish  side  by  side  with  private  industries,  and 
in  the  creation  of  a  healthy  middle  class  which 
will  again  be  the  strength  and  stability  of  the 
social  order.  It  will  not  deny  a  difference  of 


POSSIBILITIES  OF  COOPERATION  23 1 

classes,  arising  out  of  the  inequalities  of  nature 
and  the  need  of  established  authority,  but  will 
seek  to  harmonize  all  interests  with  the  common 
good. 


CHAPTER  XXI 


THE  STATE  AND  PROPERTY 

THE  question  of  ownership  is  obviously  the 
most  fundamental  of  our  economic  prob¬ 
lems.  Directly  or  indirectly  it  affects 
every  human  being.  Hence  the  far-reaching  con¬ 
sequences  of  false  popular  theories  in  this  regard. 
The  definition  itself  of  ownership  is  sufficiently 
clear.  It  implies  the  full  right  of  disposing  of  an 
object,  in  so  far  as  the  law  permits.  The  right  of 
property  is  described  by  Blackstone  as  “  The  free 
use,  enjoyment  and  disposal  of  all  acquisitions, 
without  any  control  or  diminution,  save  only  by 
the  laws  of  the  land.”  When  justice  and  charity 
have  been  considered,  as  religion  demands,  there 
is  but  one  other  factor  that  can  limit  a  man’s  free 
use  and  disposal  of  his  own  possessions,  and  that 
is  the  power  of  the  State. 

Yet  this  fact  does  not  imply  any  rights  of  owner¬ 
ship  on  the  part  of  the  State  over  the  private  prop¬ 
erty  of  individuals,  families,  organizations  or  so- 

232 


THE  STATE  AND  PROPERTY  233 

cieties.  The  false  doctrine  that  all  ownership  is 
due  to  the  law  of  the  State,  and  therefore  can  be 
annulled  or  changed  at  the  pleasure  of  the  State, 
or  by  a  majority  of  voters  at  the  ballot  box,  became 
a  favorite  principle  of  Socialism.  It  can  be  found 
repeated  in  the  popular  literature  of  our  day, 
which  is  sadly  lacking  in  all  fundamental  principles. 

Hence,  too,  the  consequence  drawn  by  Socialist 
and  others,  that  not  merely  the  confiscation  of  the 
productive  property  of  citizens,  but  likewise  the  of¬ 
fering  or  refusal  of  any  payment  in  compensation 
for  it,  are  purely  matters  of  expediency  to  be  deter¬ 
mined  at  the  will  and  whim  of  a  victorious  party. 
This  would  logically  follow  if  the  right  of  owner¬ 
ship  were  conferred  by  the  State  and  held  at  its 
good  pleasure  only.  As  the  law  alone  had  created 
this  right  by  an  arbitrary  edict,  so  the  law  could 
take  away  the  property  of  citizens,  confiscate  it 
without  any  “  by  your  leave,”  and  without  offering 
a  penny  in  compensation. 

Such  are  the  intensely  practical  consequences, 
sufficient  to  overturn  all  civilization,  that  flow  from 
a  single  philosophical  error  touching  upon  this  im¬ 
portant  question.  The  weal  or  woe  of  the  world 
is  determined  far  more  than  men  realize  by  the 
theorist  and  the  philosopher. 


234 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


The  doctrine  that  private  property  owes  its 
existence  to  the  laws  of  the  State  was  propounded 
by  Hobbes  in  his  “  Leviathan.”  All  other  rights 
of  citizens  were  derived  by  him  from  the  same 
source.  From  England  the  false  theory  passed 
into  France  and  Germany.  Destructive  of  prac¬ 
tically  all  natural  rights,  it  became  an  excellent 
justification  for  the  aberrations  of  Socialists  and 
communists.  Nothing  but  the  law  now  stood  be¬ 
tween  the  property-holder  and  his  possessions. 
Change  the  law  and  you  change  the  owner.  Such 
was  the  Socialist  doctrine.  Churches  and  private 
schools,  as  well  as  land  and  factories,  could  on  the 
morrow  be  arbitrarily  taken  by  the  State  and  ap¬ 
plied  to  its  own  uses  or  distributed  among  new 
owners.  No  injustice  would  be  done  and  no  com¬ 
plaint  could  be  made.  It  all  follows  from  the  one 
false  principle.  Atheistic  capitalists  hardly  dared 
to  act  up  to  the  full  possibilities  of  their  own  prin¬ 
ciples,  but  men  of  the  Bolshevist  and  extreme 
Socialist  type  are  not  to  be  deterred  from  pushing 
their  theories  to  their  logical  consequences. 

Catholic  doctrine,  on  the  contrary,  teaches  that 
as  the  individual  and  the  family  precede  the  State, 
so  their  rights,  including  that  of  ownership,  are 
prior  to  the  State.  They  cannot,  therefore,  be 


THE  STATE  AND  PROPERTY  235 

derived  from  it.  Men  do  not  exist  for  the  State; 
but  the  State  exists  for  the  individuals  and  families 
within  its  care.  Its  function  is  to  guard  their  indi¬ 
vidual  rights  and  to  harmonize  them  with  the  gen¬ 
eral  welfare.  The  State  neither  creates  nor  con¬ 
fers  them.  Private  owners,  therefore,  may  use 
and  dispose  of  their  property,  freely  and  without 
any  interference  on  the  part  of  the  State,  except 
only  in  so  far  as  the  social  order  and  the  public 
good  are  affected.  Just  here  for  the  first  time  the 
power  of  the  State  enters,  not  however  by  virtue 
of  any  rights  of  ownership  which  the  State  is  pre¬ 
sumed  to  possess,  but  solely  by  virtue  of  its  power 
of  jurisdiction.  This  distinction  must  be  carefully 
noted,  since  it  underlies  all  that  can  be  said  upon 
this  important  subject. 

The  significance  of  this  principle  is  plain  at  once. 
Since  the  State  has  no  rights  of  ownership  over 
any  private  possessions,  held  individually  or  cor¬ 
porately  by  its  citizens,  it  follows  that  the  State 
cannot  dispose  of  one  foot  of  private  land  or  one 
penny  of  private  wealth  according  to  its  own  arbi¬ 
trary  will  and  pleasure,  even  should  that  will  and 
pleasure  be  expressed  through  the  ballot  box,  by 
a  majority  of  Socialist  voters.  They,  no  more 
than  czar  and  emperor,  can  claim  the  right  of 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


236 

ownership  over  the  private  possessions  of  citizens. 
It  matters  not  whether  these  possessions  consist  of 
a  boy’s  whipping-top  or  of  the  latest  factory  built 
by  Ford.  The  principle  is  absolute  and  there  is 
no  exception. 

Yet  though  the  State  has  no  rights  of  ownership 
over  private  property,  it  has  rights  of  jurisdiction. 
It  cannot  dispose  at  its  pleasure  or  for  its  own  in¬ 
terests  of  any  private  possessions,  for  this  would 
imply  ownership,  but  it  can  and  must  exercise  its 
power  so  far  as  the  general  welfare  requires,  and 
no  further.  For  this  the  State  has  been  instituted, 
that  it  may  consult  and  safeguard  the  common 
good. 

“  The  temporal  goods  which  God  commits  to  a 
man  are  his  indeed  in  regard  to  property,”  says  St. 
Thomas,  “  but  in  regard  to  use  they  are  not  his 
alone,  but  others  also  who  can  be  sustained  by 
what  is  superfluous  for  him.”  If  the  individual 
owner  neglects  his  social  responsibilities,  it  is  the 
duty  of  the  State  to  enforce  their  observance. 

But  often  it  may  be  difficult  for  the  individual 
correctly  to  perceive  these  obligations.  In  gen¬ 
eral,  too,  many  of  these  obligations  cannot  be 
wisely  carried  out  except  by  subordination  to  some 
governing  authority  which  regulates  them.  Hence 


THE  STATE  AND  PROPERTY 


237 


rightfulness  of  the  imposition  of  special  income 
taxes,  of  the  assumption  of  public  ownership  in 
certain  particular  fields,  and  of  all  similar  meas¬ 
ures  enacted  in  conformity  with  the  general  wel¬ 
fare.  In  none  of  these  instances  is  the  State 
usurping  the  rights  of  ownership,  if  its  action  is 
demanded  by  the  common  good.  Its  lawrs,  how¬ 
ever,  must  take  into  account  the  well-being  of  all 
classes.  No  more  than  the  just  burdens  should  be 
placed  upon  the  shoulders  of  property-owners, 
and  Socialistic  confiscation  is  always  unjust. 

Reference  is  often  made  to  the  right  of  “  emi¬ 
nent  domain.”  This  power  can  be  sufficiently  un¬ 
derstood  by  what  has  already  been  said.  It 
merely  implies  that  in  such  exceptional  instances 
as  have  been  mentioned,  the  State  may  appropriate 
certain  private  properties  required  for  the  common 
good,  making  due  compensation  to  the  previous 
owners.  This  does  not  justify  a  general  confisca¬ 
tion,  even  of  productive  property.  Neither  is  any 
such  consequence  implied  in  the  right  of  taxation, 
as  Socialists  and  others  argue.  This,  too,  is  a 
strictly  limited  right  which  merely  draws  upon  such 
portion  of  the  property  as  the  existing  needs  of  the 
State  require.  It  takes  a  portion  of  the  property 
and  therewith  preserves  from  violation  and  sus- 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


238 

tains  intact  the  entire  property,  both  public  and 
private,  of  the  citizens. 

The  correct  relation  of  the  individual  and  of  the 
State  to  the  possession  of  private  property  can  be 
briefly  stated.  The  right  of  acquiring  private 
property  belongs  by  nature  to  every  man.  Be¬ 
cause  man  alone  of  all  animate  creation  is  gifted 
with  reason,  he  must  have  the  right  to  provide  for 
the  future  as  well  as  for  the  present  moment. 
This  he  does  by  the  acquisition  of  stable  and  per¬ 
manent  possessions.  “  Hence  man  can  possess 
not  only  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  but  also  the  earth 
itself ;  for  of  the  products  of  the  earth  he  can  make 
provision  for  the  future.”  This  right,  as  Pope 
Leo  XIII  adds,  is  not  given  him  by  the  State,  but 
is  prior  to  the  State: 

“  Man  is  older  than  the  State,  and  he  holds  the  right  of  pro¬ 
viding  for  the  life  of  his  body  prior  to  the  formation  of  any 
State.  And  to  say  that  God  has  given  the  earth  to  the  use  and 
enjoyment  of  the  whole  human  race  is  not  to  deny  that  there 
can  be  private  property.  For  God  has  granted  the  earth  to 
mankind  in  general;  not  in  the  sense  that  all  without  distinction 
can  do  with  it  as  they  please,  but  rather  that  no  part  of  it  has 
been  assigned  to  any  one  in  particular,  and  that  the  limits  of 
private  possession  have  been  left  to  be  fixed  by  man’s  own  in¬ 
dustry  and  the  laws  of  individual  peoples.” —  (“  The  Condition 
of  Labor.”) 

While  therefore  the  right  of  acquiring  property 
is  derived  from  nature  and  not  from  the  State,  the 


THE  STATE  AND  PROPERTY 


239 


actual  acquisition  of  private  property  is  not  deter¬ 
mined  by  nature,  but  depends  upon  external  facts, 
such  as  mere  occupancy  in  the  beginning.  More¬ 
over  the  jurisdictional  power  of  the  State  is  law¬ 
fully  invoked  to  limit  and  regulate  the  rights  of 
ownership  that  they  may  be  made  to  harmonize 
with  the  general  welfare. 

Such  action  became  particularly  necessary  when 
all  the  land  had  already  passed  into  private  and 
public  possession.  Those  who  now  held  no  pri¬ 
vate  title  to  the  land  had  likewise  by  nature  a  right 
to  live  from  the  fruits  of  the  land.  It  was  the 
duty  of  the  State,  therefore,  to  see  that  all  were 
provided  from  this  common  storehouse.  Hence 
the  further  duty  of  the  State  to  regulate  the 
privileges  of  private  ownership,  so  that  no  one, 
who  duly  performs  his  allotted  task  in  life,  may  be 
excluded  from  the  reasonable  use  and  enjoyment 
of  what  God  has  made  for  all  mankind. 


“  Moreover,  the  earth,  though  divided  among  private  owners, 
ceases  not  therefore  to  minister  to  the  needs  of  all,  for  there 
is  no  one  who  does  not  live  on  what  the  land  brings  forth. 
Those  who  do  not  possess  the  soil  contribute  by  their  labor; 
so  that  it  may  be  truly  said  that  all  human  subsistence  is  de¬ 
rived  either  from  labor  on  one’s  own  land,  or  from  some 
laborious  industry  which  is  paid  for  either  in  the  produce  of 
the  land  itself  or  in  that  which  is  exchanged  for  what  tht  land 
brings  forth.” — (“The  Condition  of  Labor.”) 


240 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


The  State  therefore,  to  resume  the  argument, 
has  no  rights  of  ownership  over  private  property, 
whether  this  consists  of  land  or  of  the  industries 
which  convert  into  manufactured  products  the  raw 
materials  drawn  from  the  earth.  But  it  has  both 
the  right  and  the  duty  of  exercising  jurisdictional 
power  over  every  form  of  private  ownership  the 
moment  the  latter  affects  the  general  welfare. 
Yet  the  extent  of  all  State  action  in  this  regard 
must  be  strictly  limited  by  the  demands  of  the  com¬ 
mon  good.  While  public  ownership  in  certain 
public  service  utilities  may  be  desirable,  according 
to  national  or  local  conditions,  the  main  tendency 
of  legislation  should  be,  as  we  are  constantly  in¬ 
sisting,  to  enable  as  many  as  possible  to  become 
private  owners  of  productive  property  in  land  or 
shares.  Hence  all  true  legislation  will  be  equally 
opposed  to  Socialism,  which  would  withdraw  own¬ 
ership  from  individuals  to  confer  it  on  the  com¬ 
monwealth;  and  to  rationalistic  capitalism,  which 
would  concentrate  it  in  the  hands  of  a  few.  Such, 
in  brief,  is  the  Christian  ideal  as  expressed  in  the 
teachings  of  the  Holy  See. 


CHAPTER  XXII 


THE  WOMAN  WORKER 

SIDE  by  side  with  man,  woman  is  pictured 
walking  with  uplifted  head  towards  the 
dawn  of  economic  independence.  To  some 
it  is  an  inspiring  sight.  To  others,  not  so. 
Rightly,  therefore,  do  all  classes  turn  to  the  Church 
to  find  her  attitude  towards  this  important  subject. 
No  one  has  been  so  consistently  devoted  to  the 
unfolding  of  woman’s  powers  and  the  promotion 
of  her  temporal  and  spiritual  welfare  as  the  Cath¬ 
olic  Church.  We  need  but  point  to  the  brilliant 
galaxy  of  learned  women  who  flourished  in  the 
cloisters  of  the  Middle  Ages  or  to  the  marvelous 
activities  displayed  by  such  great  Catholic  heroines 
as  St.  Catherine  of  Sienna,  Blessed  Joan  of  Arc  or 
St.  Teresa  to  whom  even  the  non-Catholic  world 
turns  for  inspiration  and  encouragement.  The 
Church  is  no  less  interested  in  the  women  of  our 
day,  and  particularly  in  the  millions  whom  eco¬ 
nomic  circumstances  have  driven  from  the  home 
into  the  open  mart,  the  busy  shop  and  factory. 


241 


242  THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 

That  woman,  no  less  than  man,  should  be  de¬ 
voted  to  useful  occupation  is  a  first  principle  of 
Christianity.  Even  in  the  literature  of  the  Jewish 
Talmud  there  is  a  wise  saying  that  if  a  woman  has 
a  hundred  servants,  it  should  not  dispense  her  from 
personal  work.  Idleness  is  the  mother  of  vice, 
and  the  proverb  holds  as  true  of  woman  as  of 
man.  Rich  or  poor,  married  or  unmarried,  en¬ 
gaged  in  gainful  occupations  for  a  livelihood  or 
free  to  devote  her  energies  to  the  welfare  of  oth¬ 
ers  outside  her  own  home  circle  and  to  the  inter¬ 
ests  of  the  Church  of  God,  woman  has  endless 
work  to  do  and  her  hands  need  never  rest  idle. 

There  can  be  no  reason  and  no  excuse  for  an 
existence  of  mere  leisure  and  social  functions. 
The  woman  who  lives  but  to  be  served,  whose  time 
is  given  to  pleasure  and  “  society,”  whose  sole  am¬ 
bition  is  to  be  a  thing  of  useless  preciousness,  en¬ 
vied  or  admired,  is  a  human  parasite  who  thrives 
upon  the  toil  and  blood  of  others. 

How  dignified  and  noble  by  the  side  of  this 
scented  creature,  whose  only  worth  is  in  her  silks 
and  satins,  her  lap  dogs  and  her  limousines,  is  the 
true  Christian  working  girl !  In  her  Christ  lives 
again.  Her  soul  is  pure  as  lilies  from  the  taint 
of  sin.  Beneath  her  drawn  and  tired  features, 


THE  WOMAN  WORKER 


243 


wearied  after  the  long  day’s  toil,  is  hidden,  though 
not  all  concealed,  the  presence  of  the  Living  God 
who  tabernacles  in  her  breast.  Who  that  has 
learned  to  know  her  does  not  honor  and  respect 
her?  Yet  what  power  has  been  able  thus  to  up- 

a 

hold  her  dignity  and  preserve  her  purity  amid  the 
world’s  allurements  but  that  same  Catholic  Church 
which  is  her  comfort,  her  glory  and  her  joy; 
within  whose  sanctuary  she  can  find  her  truest  rest 
and  at  whose  altar  she  partakes  of  the  Bread  of 
Life? 

But  if  the  Church  acknowledges  the  need  of 
woman’s  work,  both  within  and  without  the  home, 
and  has  no  blame  to  cast  upon  the  Christian  woman 
worker,  whom  she  ever  fosters  and  protects,  it 
does  not  therefore  follow  that  she  approves  of  the 
condition  of  society  in  which  millions  of  women, 
married  and  unmarried,  are  driven  forth  into  the 
field  of  the  world’s  industrial  competition,  whose 
services  would  be  more  gladly  and  more  fruitfully 
rendered  in  the  home.  Much  less  does  the  Church 
consider  this  an  ideal  state.  Such  indeed  is  the 
fallacy  of  that  typical  Socialist  philosophy  which 
would  constrain  all  alike,  irrespective  of  sex,  to 
take  their  place  at  the  wheel  of  industry  or  in  the 
booth  of  commerce.  It  is  in  a  measure  likewise 


244  THE  world  problem 

the  error  of  that  modern  feminism  which  demands 
for  every  woman  her  complete  economic  independ¬ 
ence,  while  denying  to  man  the  divinely-assigned 
headship  of  the  family.  Both  these  systems  are 
equally  repugnant  to  Christianity  and  to  that 
Catholic  Church  which  will  safeguard,  at  every 
cost,  the  right  and  dignity  of  womankind  whose 
high  ideal  is  enshrined  for  her  in  Mary. 

The  Church  has  not  failed  to  understand  the 
economic  exigencies  of  our  time,  both  as  they  ap¬ 
ply  to  the  legions  of  women  who  must  earn  their 
livelihood  in  industry  or  commerce,  and  to  the 
commonwealth  which  may  stand  in  special  need  of 
their  service  in  times  of  national  crisis.  Yet 
neither  does  she  ever  lose  sight  of  woman’s  normal 
purpose  in  life.  Spiritually  it  is  the  same  as  that 
of  man,  but  in  the  material  order  it  differs  from 
his  in  many  respects,  even  as  in  structure,  func¬ 
tion,  character  and  aptitude  woman  was  created 
different  from  man:  “  For  woman  is  not  unde¬ 
veloped  man,  but  diverse.”  Neither  training  nor 
education  can  ever  make  her  the  same  as  man,  nor 
ever  should  strive  to  do  so.  There  is  an  ideal  of 
womanliness  and  an  ideal  of  manliness,  and  both 
are  perfect  in  their  way;  but  there  is  no  sadder 
spectacle  for  angels  and  for  men  in  this  sublunary 


THE  WOMAN  WORKER  245 

world  than  the  womanlike  man  or  the  manlike 
woman. 

“  Male  and  female  he  created  them,”  the  Scrip¬ 
ture  tells  us.  This  difference  is  again  brought 
home  to  us  in  the  consequences  of  the  Fall.  To 
man  God  said :  “  Cursed  is  the  earth  in  thy  work ; 

with  labor  and  toil  shalt  thou  eat  thereof  all  the 
days  of  thy  life.”  But  to  woman  He  said :  u  In 
sorrow  shalt  thou  bring  forth  thy  children.” 
Here  therefore  are  clearly  defined  the  normal  oc¬ 
cupations  of  both  sexes  for  which  the  Almighty  has 
especially  fitted  them.  The  hard  and  burdensome 
toil  of  the  outer  world  is,  so  far  as  possible,  to  be 
the  portion  of  man,  while  the  gentler,  but  even 
more  heroic  sacrifices  of  home  and  motherhood 
fall  to  the  part  of  woman.  Hence  in  his  great 
Encyclical  on  “  The  Condition  of  Labor  ”  Pope 
Leo  XIII  has  this  to  say  of  woman,  which  briefly 
sums  up  the  entire  doctrine  of  the  Church  on  the 
important  question  of  woman  labor: 

Women  are  not  suited  for  certain  occupations;  a  woman  is 
by  nature  fitted  for  home-work,  and  it  is  that  which  is  best 
adapted  to  preserve  her  modesty  and  to  promote  the  good  up¬ 
bringing  of  children  and  the  well-being  of  the  family. 

Yet  of  the  women  who  are  engaged  in  wage¬ 
earning  occupations  outside  of  the  home  many 


246  THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 

have  not  made  the  choice  of  their  own  heart. 
Others  have  freely  chosen  the  state  of  virginity  to 
preserve  their  purity  for  God  alone,  and  are  work¬ 
ing  out  their  salvation  in  the  world  rather  than 
within  convent  walls.  Both  classes  may  be  doing 
God’s  will  according  to  their  best  lights  and  both 
classes  must  seek  to  earn  their  livelihood  as  best 
they  can.  Others,  still,  and  these  are  by  far 
the  greatest  number,  are  only  temporarily  engaged 
in  gainful  occupations,  during  their  early  years. 
A.  E.  Mahuteaux  in  the  Liverpool  Catholic  Times 
thus  summarizes  the  question: 

Many  women  fortunately  will  always  find  their  happiness  in 
receiving  shelter  and  comfort  from  a  father’s  or  a  husband’s 
love.  No  one  wants  to  change  that.  It  is  both  the  normal 
and  the  ideal.  But  what  must  happen  to  the  large  number  of 
women  who  have  neither  father  nor  husband?  From  whose 
kindness  and  solicitude  will  they  receive  the  necessary  means 
of  subsistence?  And  if  in  honor  a  woman  may  not  receive 
them  from  any  other,  how  can  she  procure  them  except  by  her 
own  skill  and  effort?  And  how,  in  the  present  state  of  our 
social  economy,  can  that  skill  and  effort  be  exercised  except  in 
competition  with  her  fellow-beings,  men  and  women  alike? 

Woman’s  place,  therefore,  as  the  writer  ob¬ 
serves,  is  wherever  Providence  has  given  her  du¬ 
ties  to  perform;  for  no  woman’s  hands  may  be 
idle,  whether  she  labors  for  herself  or  for  others. 
Some  have  their  duties  in  their  own  home  or  in 
the  home  of  others,  and  some  have  their  duties  in 


THE  WOMAN  WORKER 


247 


hospital,  workshop,  school  or  office.  There  are 
certain  classes  of  work  which  are  rightly  to  be  re¬ 
stricted  to  men,  and  there  are  others  which  woman 
can  perform  as  well  or  perhaps  far  better.  The 
domestic  sphere  is  their  own  by  nature.  For  the 
rest  it  matters  not  what  we  do,  provided  we  do 
well  what  God’s  Providence  assigns  us.  It  is  the 
love  of  Him  that  gives  to  every  act  its  highest 
value  and  it  is  this  alone  that  can  raise  to  a  fine 
white  flame  of  devotion  these  little  lives  of  ours, 
whether  they  burn  in  cloister,  home  or  workshop. 

Nothing  of  all  this  conflicts  with  the  Holy 
Father’s  teaching,  that  woman  is  by  nature  fitted 
for  home-work  and  that  it  is  this  which  is  best 
adapted  to  preserve  her  modesty  and  prepare  her 
for  her  normal  duty  as  wife  and  mother.  It  is  in 
the  latter  function  that  she  can  render  to  society 
her  greatest  service,  unless  indeed  she  choose  for 
her  sole  Spouse  Christ  the  Lord,  that  she  may 
become  the  spiritual  mother  of  souls. 

Clearly,  then,  it  is  the  duty  of  the  State  to  pro¬ 
vide,  so  far  as  possible,  that  woman  shall  be  en¬ 
abled  to  follow  her  primal  vocation  of  mother¬ 
hood.  If  already  a  mother  she  must  be  given  the 
opportunity  to  devote  to  her  children  all  that  at¬ 
tention  and  care  which  make  industrial  occupations 


248 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


in  shop  or  factory  impossible.  Her  place  is  now 
in  the  home,  with  her  little  ones.  This,  as  we  can¬ 
not  too  frequently  repeat,  is  one  of  the  most  urgent 
reasons  obliging  the  State  to  secure  an  adequate 
family  wage  for  every  adult  male  laborer.  Thus 
will  he  be  able,  in  the  early  years  of  his  manhood, 
to  offer  a  home  to  the  woman  of  his  choice  where 
she  can  happily  perform  the  duties  of  a  Christian 
mother,  undisturbed  by  that  struggle  for  existence 
whose  weight  should  rightly  fall  upon  the  hus¬ 
band’s  shoulders.  Her  own  duties,  if  conscien¬ 
tiously  performed,  may  far  more  than  balance  this 
burden,  while  the  claims  of  charity  will  leave  no 
moments  idle  on  her  hands. 

Both  statistics  and  experience  show  conclusively 
that,  in  general,  married  women  will  gladly  with¬ 
draw  from  industrial  and  commercial  life  if  a 
suitable  family  wage  is  paid  their  husbands. 
Their  withdrawal,  like  the  prevention  of  child 
labor,  will  in  turn  react  favorably  upon  the  labor 
situation,  will  lessen  unemployment  and  tend  to 
raise  the  wages  of  the  men. 

But  there  is  a  duty  likewise  imposed  upon  the 
individual  man  and  woman.  It  is  the  duty  of 
thrift  and  moderation,  and  unless  this  is  better 
observed  by  all  classes  there  can  be  no  solution  of 


THE  WOMAN  WORKER 


249 


our  problem.  We  are  living  in  an  age  of  extrava¬ 
gant  expenditure.  The  rich  by  the  neglect  of 
their  stewardship,  using  their  surplus  wealth  as  if 
it  stood  at  their  free  disposal  and  were  not  in¬ 
tended  for  the  common  good,  are  setting  an  ex¬ 
ample  of  lavish  living  which  the  poor  are  imitat¬ 
ing  in  their  own  degree.  The  spendthrift  young 
man  cannot  hope  to  support  a  wife,  even  though 
an  adequate  wage  be  secured  for  him,  while  the 
earnest  and  ambitious  worker  will  wisely  fear  to 
marry  a  girl  whose  extravagance  of  dress  and 
amusement  forebodes  disaster  to  his  limited  earn¬ 
ings.  “  I  will  not  be  hard  to  keep,”  was  the  as¬ 
suring  remark  made  by  a  simply  yet  faultlessly 
dressed  American  girl  to  the  happy  young  man 
whose  heart  and  hand  she  had  accepted.  There 
was  no  thought  of  narrow  parsimony,  but  of  that 
wisdom  which  builds  a  successful  home  and  that 
motherliness  which  provides  for  the  little  ones 
who  are  to  be  the  joy  of  the  parents’  youthful  days 
and  the  glory  of  their  declining  years. 

Until,  therefore,  every  man  is  assured  a  family 
wage,  and  rich  and  poor  alike  return  to  the  sim¬ 
plicity  of  Christian  life,  it  would  be  futile  to  hope 
for  a  satisfactory  solution  of  this  particular  phase 
of  the  problem  of  the  woman  worker.  The  wage- 


250 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


labor  of  countless  women  is  to  a  great  extent  un¬ 
natural,  because  unnecessarily  enforced  upon  them 
through  capitalistic  greed,  through  inadequate 
legislation  and  through  personal  habits  of  thrift¬ 
lessness  and  excess.  Socialism  has  studiously  fos¬ 
tered  the  latter,  though  little  urging  was  needed  in 
this  direction.  The  luxury  of  the  rich  was  even 
far  more  culpable  in  the  example  that  it  set.  We 
must  prepare  for  a  future  reconstruction  in  which 
woman  will  be  given  ampler  opportunities  to  pro¬ 
mote  both  her  own  happiness  and  that  of  the  race. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 


THE  WOMAN  LABOR  PROBLEM 

I 

THE,  problem  of  woman  labor  has  become 
of  permanent  interest  and  importance. 
The  world  war  merely  lent  to  it  an  added 
significance.  It  is  a  strictly  modern  problem. 
The  industrial  work  of  women  in  the  Middle  Ages 
was  usually  confined  to  assisting  father  or  husband 
in  the  home,  which  was  often  likewise  the  work¬ 
shop  of  the  master  tradesman.  Yet  this  was  a 
limited  and  casual  occupation.  There  was  other 
work  for  woman’s  hands  to  do,  that  never  rested 
idle. 

It  is  true  none  the  less  that  women  often  held 
a  place  in  the  trade  gilds  and  there  is  mention  even 
of  a  gild  of  women  goldsmiths.  It  was  a  craft 
calling  for  delicate  skill  rather  than  strength,  and 
woman’s  nimble  fingers  might  therefore  ply  it  with 
special  success.  Gild  regulations  in  general  did 
not  overlook  the  wives  and  daughters  of  the  gilds- 
They  were  to  uphold  the  honor  and  good 

251 


men. 


252  THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 

repute  of  the  organization  and  in  return  to  receive 
its  fullest  protection  during  the  life  of  the  gilds- 
man  and  particularly  after  his  death.  The  only 
person  who  might  conduct  a  trade  by  proxy  was  the 
widow  who  desired  to  continue  her  husband’s  busi¬ 
ness  and  was  permitted  to  leave  the  master-work 
which  this  implied  to  a  paid  workman. 

The  first  oppressive  labor  statutes  against 
women  that  have  come  to  the  writer’s  notice  were 
those  enacted  by  a  woman.  They  are  contained 
in  the  labor  code  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  known  as 
“  5  Eliz.  cap.  4,”  and  admirably  illustrate  the 
summary  way  in  which  labor  difficulties  were  set¬ 
tled  in  the  post-Reformation  day.  A  servant 
problem  had  evidently  arisen  with  the  increase  of 
wealth  and  luxury  on  the  part  of  the  rich,  and  the 
deep  and  hopeless  depression  of  the  laboring 
classes  that  followed  upon  the  Reformation.  To 
supply  the  desired  number  of  domestic  servants  it 
was  enacted  by  Queen  Elizabeth  that  unmarried 
women  between  the  ages  of  twelve  and  forty  years 
could  be  assigned  by  the  local  magistrates  to 
service  at  such  wages  as  these  magistrates  should 
determine.  If  a  woman  refused  she  was  to  be 
committed  to  ward  until  she  consented.  The  deli¬ 
cate  prison  attention  bestowed  upon  such  recal- 


THE  WOMAN  LABOR  PROBLEM  253 

citrants  in  the  days  of  “  Good  Queen  Bess  ”  did 
not  encourage  any  hunger  strikes.  In  practice 
women  might  thus  be  turned  over  as  bondslaves 
to  any  employer,  against  both  their  own  wish  and 
against  the  will  of  their  parents  or  guardians,  to 
labor  for  any  wages  the  magistrate  might  assign. 
There  was  no  merciful  limit  set  to  the  hours  of 
labor  or  the  nature  of  the  work  that  might  be 
imposed  upon  them. 

Woman’s  more  general  entrance  into  the  in¬ 
dustrial  field,  outside  of  the  home  or  apart  from 
domestic  service,  was  to  follow  upon  the  inven¬ 
tion  of  machinery.  Not  that  the  actual  conditions 
which  then  came  about  were  necessitated  by  this  in¬ 
vention,  but  because  labor  had  been  handed  over 
to  the  merciless  greed  of  capital  under  a  system 
that  was  no  longer  influenced  by  the  saving  prin¬ 
ciples  of  the  Catholic  Church.  Woman  conse¬ 
quently  was  to  be  exploited  in  common  with  man, 
and  even  her  helpless  little  ones  were  not  to  be 
spared  by  44  the  greedy  speculators,”  as  Pope  Leo 
XIII  wrote,  44  who  use  human  beings  as  mere  in¬ 
struments  for  money-making.” 

For  generations  woman  was  to  furnish  the 
44  cheap  labor  ”  of  the  world.  She  was  to  be 
placed  in  competition,  not  merely  with  men  and 


254 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


with  her  own  sex,  but  with  the  newly  invented  ma¬ 
chinery  itself.  It  was  often  found  less  expensive 
to  employ  the  deft  hands  of  woman  labor  than  to 
purchase  the  costly  devices  of  the  modern  era  of 
industry.  In  a  million  sweat  shops  and  a  million 
homes  the  song  of  the  shirt  was  repeated  from 
early  morning  until  late  at  night :  “  Work !  work ! 

work!  ”  till  the  brain  began  to  swim  and  the  eyes 
grew  heavy  and  dim.  Far  better  had  been  the 
condition  of  woman  even  under  that  earlier  serf¬ 
dom  which  the  Church  had  slowly  worn  away  by 
the  power  of  her  doctrine,  whose  whole  tendency 
was  to  make  man  and  woman  alike  free  in  Christ. 

While  the  new  form  of  sweated  labor  did  not 
elevate  woman,  it  degraded  man  through  her.  It 
brought  about  that  other  equally  modern  problem 
of  unemployment,  and  clogged  the  labor  market 
with  starving  men  and  women  ready  to  slave  for 
any  pittance.  Wages  were  accordingly  depressed. 
Often  an  entire  family,  husband,  wife  and  little 
children,  together  labored  for  a  wage  far  less  than 
was  due  to  the  father  of  the  family  alone.  We 
need  not  go  beyond  the  United  States  for  illustra¬ 
tions.  Thus  in  the  summary  of  a  New  York  State 
factory  investigation  some  few  years  before  the 
war  we  find  the  following  statement  in  a  clipping 


THE  WOMAN  LABOR  PROBLEM  255 

made  at  the  time  from  an  A.  F.  of  L.  News  Letter: 


“  Testimony  has  been  adduced  which  shows  that  in  many 
instances  the  children  were  compelled  to  work  or  the  entire 
family  would  face  starvation.  It  was  shown  that  the  prices 
of  the  necessities  of  life  are  higher  than  ever  before  in  the 
history  of  the  United  States  and  the  earnings  of  the  tenement 
dwellers  so  low  that,  even  with  the  entire  family  working,  the 
average  was  only  $7  a  week.  The  stories  related  under  oath 
are  almost  unbelievable  in  their  recital  of  hunger  and  misery. 
They  deal  with  women  working  side  by  side  with  men  in 
iron  foundries,  performing  tasks  far  beyond  their  strength,  and 
subject  to  sudden  changes  in  temperature  which  result  in  many 
instances  in  fatal  diseases;  of  women  working  nine  to  fourteen 
hours  nightly  in  factories  and  mills,  and  of  mere  children  work¬ 
ing  in  canneries  until  long  into  the  night.  Babies  of  eighteen 
months  are  being  trained  to  sort  out  artificial  petals,  and  children 
of  tender  age,  some  less  than  five  years,  are  being  used  to  take 
advantage  of  the  Christmas  holidays  to  dress  dolls,  extract  meat 
from  nuts,  etc.” 

“  It’s  O !  to  be  a  slave  along  with  the  barbarous 
Turk,”  if  this  is  Christian  work.  Child  labor  is 
closely  connected  with  oppressive  woman  labor 
and  is  based  upon  the  same  pagan  philosophy  which 
the  Holy  Scripture  described  as  especially  peculiar 
to  the  men  of  the  generation  in  which  Christ  was 
to  be  born :  The  things  which  are  weak  are  found 
to  be  nothing  worth. 

There  is  a  reaction  in  our  day  which  would 
postpone  unreasonably  the  age  at  which  children 
may  be  permitted  to  work  in  gainful  occupations 
and  aid  in  the  support  of  the  family.  Work  of 


2 S&  THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 

every  kind  is  in  fact  to  be  kept  from  the  growing 
child  even  in  the  school  and  in  the  home.  This 
almost  equally  dangerous  excess  must  not  permit 
us  to  overlook  the  real  evil.  Both  extremes  must 
be  combated  alike  for  the  sake  both  of  the  home 
and  of  the  child,  as  well  of  society  in  general. 
But  it  is  with  the  sins  of  commercialism  we  are 
here  concerned. 

With  the  mother  forced  to  sweated  labor,  the 
child  was  soon  obliged  to  help  her.  With  the 
mother  entering  the  factory,  the  child  was  made  to 
follow.  It  was  the  condition  against  which  Pope 
Leo  raised  his  voice  and  against  which  Cardinal 
Manning  so  strongly  wrote  long  before  our  Child 
and  Woman  Labor  laws  had  in  any  effective  wray 
remedied  this  barbarism.  Men  complain,  wrote 
the  great  Cardinal  in  his  comment  on  the  Labor 
Encyclical,  that  employers  prefer  the  cheaper 
work  of  women,  and  women  are  finding  that  em¬ 
ployers  prefer  the  cheaper  work  of  children.  “  It 
is  the  old  formula  of  modern  political  economy, 
4  Sell  in  the  dearest  market,  and  buy  in  the  cheap¬ 
est.’  What  is  cheaper  than  the  work  of  women 
and  half-timers?”  A  normal  state  of  wage- 
earning  should  not  merely  put  the  wife  back  into 
the  home  into  the  midst  of  her  children,  as  he  says, 


THE  WOMAN  LABOR  PROBLEM  257 

but  likewise  protect  the  home  itself  against  the 
encroachments  of  that  stealthy  greed  to  which 
nothing  is  sacred.  Here  is  a  picture  of  child  labor 
as  a  radical  poet  describes  it.  Such  facts  have 
helped  to  make  our  Socialists  and  anarchists : 


“Lisabetta,  Marianina,  Fiametta,  Teresina, 

They  are  winding  stems  of  roses,  one  by  one,  one  by  one, 
Little  children  who  have  never  learned  to  play; 

Teresina  softly  crying  that  her  fingers  ache  today; 

Tiny  Fiametta  nodding  when  the  twilight  slips  in,  gray. 

High  above  the  clattering  street,  ambulance  and  fire-gong  beat, 
They  sit,  curling  crimson  petals,  one  by  one,  one  by  one.  .  .  . 
They  have  never  seen  a  rose  bush  nor  a  dew  drop  in  the  sun.” 


Thus  for  the  sake  of  the  unnoly  dollar  were 
mothers  and  children  alike  oppressed  and  their 
souls  and  bodies  left  blighted  and  stunted.  What 
rendered  the  problem  doubly  difficult  was  the  fact 
that  both  women  and  children  were  often  prepared 
to  enter  into  conspiracy  with  their  sweated-labor 
bosses  to  evade  the  provisions  of  the  law  when 
this  had  at  last  been  enacted.  But  what  were  they 
to  do?  For  they  must  live,  and  too  often  the  law 
had  failed  to  make  provision  for  this.  To  abol¬ 
ish  tenement  labor,  for  instance,  and  not  provide 
for  those  who  must  thus  sustain  their  existence,  is 
ill-considered  legislation. 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


2  58 

But  if  these  are  serious  difficulties,  it  is  even 
still  less  possible  to  organize  such  women.  The 
organization  of  all  woman  labor  has  everywhere 
been  extremely  difficult  and  unfortunately  radical¬ 
ism  often  played  a  dominant  part  where  such  or¬ 
ganization  was  achieved. 

Labor  unionism  has  for  its  own  self-protection 
earnestly  worked  at  the  total  elimination  of  child- 
slavery  and  of  the  unnatural  conditions  and  inter¬ 
minable  hours  of  woman  labor,  and  with  no  slight 
success.  It  has  particularly  fought  to  secure  for 
women  the  same  wages  that  are  accorded  to  men 
at  the  same  labor.  Here  too  its  purpose  has  been 
self-protection.  It  has  sought  to  reduce  still 
further  the  existing  competition  and  guard  the 
wages  of  male  labor. 

It  is  reasonable  that  woman  should  be  paid 
according  to  her  productiveness.  Under  normal 
conditions  an  equal  wage  with  man  should  imply 
an  equal  service.  In  whatever  industry  her  pro¬ 
ductiveness  may  be  less  than  that  of  man,  her 
wage  will  also  naturally  be  less.  This  plan  was 
followed  by  the  United  States  Government,  when 
in  its  war  labor  program  it  demanded  that  where 
women  were  obliged  to  replace  men:  “The 
standard  of  wages  hitherto  prevailing  for  men  in 


THE  WOMAN  LABOR  PROBLEM  259 

the  process  should  not  be  lowered  where  women 
render  equivalent  services” 

As  regards  the  enactment  of  minimum  wage 
laws  we  must  however  clearly  distinguish  between 
the  lowest  wage  that  may  be  paid  to  the  adult 
woman  and  that  which  may  be  paid  to  the  adult 
male  laborer.  The  former  must  receive  no  less 
than  an  individual  wage  which  will  suffice  to  sup¬ 
port  her  independently  of  any  external  assistance. 
Though  some  girls  there  are  who  work  for  44  pin 
money  ”  or  clothing,  cumulative  evidence  shows 
that  the  vast  majority  are  aiding  in  the  support  of 
a  family  or  are  living  alone,  exclusively  dependent 
on  their  earnings.  But  while  the  adult  woman 
worker  should  receive  at  the  least  a  living  wage, 
the  adult  male  laborer  should  receive  no  less  than 
a  full  family  wage.  This  will  either  enable  him  to 
marry  or  to  support,  in  Christian  decency,  the  wife 
and  children  whom  God  has  already  given  him. 
“  The  minimum  wage,”  says  Cardinal  Manning, 
44  must  be  sufficient  to  maintain  a  man  and  his 
home.  This  does  not  mean  a  variable  measure, 
or  a  sliding  scale  according  to  the  number  of  chil¬ 
dren,  but  a  fixed  average  sum.” 

We  have  so  far  dealt  mainly  with  what  may  be 


260  the  world  problem 

regarded  as  the  historical  aspect  of  the  question 
and  have  touched  upon  certain  phases  only  of  the 
great  problem  in  the  present  chapter.  We  shall 
now  turn  to  still  other  fundamental  considerations 
to  which  this  subject  gives  rise  in  our  day. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 


WELFARE  OF  THE  WOMAN 
LABORER 

AFTER  all  the  decades  of  years  that  have 
passed  since  the  appearance  of  the  Labor 
Encyclical  of  Pope  Leo  XIII,  no  flaw  has 
been  found  in  any  detail  of  that  remarkable  docu¬ 
ment.  We  may  therefore  safely  trust  in  the  wis¬ 
dom  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  when  he  tells  us: 
“  Women  are  not  suited  for  certain  occupations.” 
Wifehood  and  motherhood  are  the  goal  of  the  vast 
majority  of  our  industrial  woman  workers.  This 
is  made  plain  by  the  fact  that  by  far  the  greatest 
number  of  these  women  laborers  is  under  the  age 
of  twenty,  showing  that  soon  after  this  period 
many  discontinue  their  employment  for  a  home 
life.  Women  themselves  therefore  confirm  in 
practice  the  truth  of  those  other  words  of  the 
illustrious  Pontiff,  that  “  A  woman  is  by  nature 
fitted  for  home-work,  and  it  is  this  which  is  best 

adapted  to  preserve  her  modesty  and  to  promote 

.261 


262 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


the  good  up-bringing  of  children  and  the  well¬ 
being  of  the  family.” 

The  occupation  that  will  naturally  best  prepare 
woman  for  her  normal  purpose  in  life,  is  the  round 
of  household  duties,  whether  in  her  own  home  or 
the  home  of  others.  Yet  domestic  service,  though 
often  far  preferable  to  shop  and  factory  labor, 
does  not  appeal  to  all.  The  reasons  need  not  here 
be  considered.  The  thirteenth  United  States 
census,  taken  in  normal  times,  showed  neverthe¬ 
less  that  about  one-third  of  the  total  number  of 
women  employed  in  gainful  occupations  were  en¬ 
gaged  in  domestic  and  personal  service,  in  which 
they  doubly  outnumbered  the  men.  Only  in  pro¬ 
fessional  and  clerical  work  did  they  otherwise  re¬ 
motely  compare  with  the  men  in  numbers.  Here, 
too,  therefore,  the  facts  fully  support  the  wisdom 
of  the  Holy  Father’s  words  in  regard  to  woman’s 
work. 

It  was  no  less  positively  supported  in  the  rec¬ 
ommendations  of  the  United  States  War  Labor 
Board  when  it  laid  down  the  rule  that  even  in 
these  trying  times  “  women  should  not  be  em¬ 
ployed  to  replace  men  in  occupations  or  places  of 
employment  clearly  unfit  for  women,  owing  to 
physical  or  moral  conditions.”  Specific  instances 


WELFARE  OF  THE  WOMAN  LABORER  263 

were  given  in  illustration,  as  barrooms,  pool- 
rooms,  mines  or  quarries.  “  In  addition,  girls 
under  twenty-one  years  of  age  should  not  be  em¬ 
ployed  in  occupations  or  places  of  employment 
clearly  unfit  for  them,  owing  to  their  youth.” 
Occupations  mentioned  were  the  public  messenger 
service,  street-car  service  and  employment  as  ele¬ 
vator  operators  or  as  bell  boys  in  hotels  and  clubs. 
These  principles  were  approved  at  the  time  by  all 
the  production  and  distribution  agencies  of  the 
Government. 

Extraordinary  emergencies,  unusual  remunera¬ 
tions,  or  motives  of  purest  patriotism  may  induce 
women  for  the  time  to  fill  the  places  of  men  in 
occupations  to  which  woman  is  least  adapted  by 
nature.  The  temporary  success  and  the  eclat 
given  to  such  work  in  the  popular  press  do  not 
prove  that  it  will  be  normally  conducive  to  the 
welfare  either  of  woman  herself  or  of  the  race. 
It  is  folly  to  strive  to  ignore  the  fact  of  sex;  to 
overlook  the  differences  of  organism,  structure  and 
function.  It  is  in  effect  to  disregard  the  creative 
will  of  God  which  made  us,  male  and  female,  with 
diverse  aptitudes  and  powers,  suited  to  diverse 
purposes  in  life.  Even  an  equal  muscular  strength 
would  give  no  ground  for  the  conclusion  that  the 


264  THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 

work  of  men  and  women  can  ever  be  made  simply 
interchangeable. 

Labor  that  implies  great  physical  fatigue  and 
continued  strain  will  always  remain  the  normal 
portion  of  man.  Women,  as  physical  experts  tell 
us  and  experience  proves,  are  by  nature  predis¬ 
posed  to  nervous  troubles.  Their  sexual  functions 
weaken  the  nerves,  and  nervous  tension  will  there¬ 
fore  exaggerate  any  evil  tendencies  to  which  they 
may  be  prone.  The  remark  of  a  factory  girl, 
that  she  felt  “  like  screaming  ”  whenever  the  ma¬ 
chines  came  to  a  sudden  stop  at  night  is  character¬ 
istic.  Constant  vibrations,  such  as  those  of  a  mill, 
wrote  D.  R.  Kier  in  the  Popular  Science  Monthly , 
act  upon  their  nerves  as  light  tappings  do  upon 
steel. 

y 


“  The  effect  of  the  strain  of  industry,  then,  is  to  add  mental  to 
physical  fatigue,  destroying  the  recuperative  power  of  the  body. 
Since  the  sexual  organs  and  the  nervous  system  both  take  the 
same  food  elements  from  the  blood  and  are  delicately  adjusted 
to  each  other,  the  toll  industry  takes  of  the  nerves  is  sooner  or 
later  reflected  in  organic  maladjustments.  As  with  monotonous 
work,  so  with  industrial  diseases  no  direct  result  on  the  fecundity 
of  women  can  be  pointed  out.  The  harm  comes  indirectly 
through  a  lowering  of  general  vitality  and  nerve  strain.” 


Various  industrial  poisonings  seem  to  be  more 
harmful  to  women  than  to  men,  and  have  exceed¬ 
ingly  disastrous  effects.  “  It  is  rare  for  a  woman 


WELFARE  OF  THE  WOMAN  LABORER  265 

working  in  lead  fumes  to  give  birth  to  a  healthy 
child  at  term.  Often  the  poisoning  results  in 
sterility.”  Similar  evil  effects  due  to  various  kinds 
of  injurious  factory  work,  lifting  heavy  weights 
or  running  foot-power  machinery,  might  readily 
be  enumerated.  Malnutrition  too  plays  its  part 
where  woman  has  no  time  properly  to  prepare  her 
meals.  Statistics  need  not  be  quoted  to  show  the 
fearful  toll  in  life  or  health  to  be  paid  by  children 
of  such  factory  mothers.  Lactation  is  of  necessity 
interfered  with  to  the  serious  injury  of  both  mother 
and  child. 

“  The  survivors  of  this  heroic  treatment  grow  up,  never  having 
had  sufficient  nourishment.  When  it  comes  their  turn  to  go  to 
work,  they  do  so  not  equipped  with  full  vigor  to  meet  the  in¬ 
creasing  stress  of  such  work,  but  in  a  weakened  condition,  and 
are  susceptible  to  all  the  ills  before  mentioned.” 

Thus  the  future  mothers  of  the  race  are  undone 
in  their  very  babyhood,  and  even  before  they  have 
seen  the  light  of  day.  Worst  of  all,  we  now  find 
not  only  the  social  and  economic,  but  all  the  moral 
factors  which  have  caused  a  world-wide  decline 
in  the  birth-rate,  operating  in  the  various  groups 
of  working  women.  The  immorality  of  irre- 
ligion  has  thus  found  its  expression  among  them  in 
many  and  various  ways.  Against  all  these  evil 
influences,  physical  and  spiritual,  our  women  labor- 


266 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


ers  must  be  guarded  and  protected  by  sincere  Chris¬ 
tian  social  workers  as  well  as  by  the  influence  of 
the  Church  herself. 

While  the  wages  of  men  remain  insufficient  for 
the  support  of  a  family  and  married  women  con¬ 
tinue  their  labor  in  the  factories  or  other  places  of 
employment,  it  is  clear  that  strict  laws  must  pro¬ 
vide  for  the  right  of  the  offspring,  so  that  an 
ample  period  of  rest  is  ensured  the  mother  imme¬ 
diately  before  and  after  the  advent  of  a  child. 
Here,  as  elsewhere,  women  workers  in  factories 
are  likely,  of  their  own  accord,  to  aid  the  em¬ 
ployer  in  circumventing  the  law,  or  to  do  so  even 
against  his  will.  In  the  same  manner  laws  enact¬ 
ing  shorter  working  hours  are  worthless  once  an 
extension,  or  over-time  work,  is  made  possible  — 
except  perhaps  under  the  most  careful  restric¬ 
tions  —  for  here  too  women  workers  often  readily 
lend  themselves  to  an  evasion  of  the  law.  It  is 
the  duty  of  the  State  in  many  cases  to  protect  such 
laborers  against  themselves.  There  may  be  less 
need  for  this,  however,  once  a  full  living  wage  has 
been  secured  for  every  woman  worker. 

In  regard  to  the  night  work  of  women,  Jo¬ 
sephine  Goldmark  concludes,  from  the  experience 
of  the  past,  that  such  work  will  be  considered 


WELFARE  OF  THE  WOMAN  LABORER  267 

necessary  and  inevitable  until  it  is  positively  pre¬ 
vented  by  law.  So,  too,  the  excessive  hours  in 
laundry  work,  which  were  wont  to  run  up  to  twelve 
and  fourteen  hours  at  the  end  of  the  week,  were 
claimed  to  be  unavoidable:  “  Because  the  laun¬ 
dries  are  obliged  to  return  promptly  linen  from 
hotels,  barber  shops,  restaurants,  etc.”  But  neces¬ 
sity  readily  suggested  another  way  out  of  the 
dilemma.  It  consisted  in  adopting  the  very  sim¬ 
ple  remedy  of  laying  in  a  larger  stock  of  such 
linens,  in  place  of  relying  upon  the  nervous  over¬ 
work  of  poor,  helpless  girls  and  women.  Similar 
solutions  can  be  found  elsewhere,  once  men  are 
made  to  realize  that  human  life  and  happiness  are 
of  more  value  than  an  extra  stock  of  linen  or  any 
other  trifle  added  to  the  working  expenses  of  their 
business. 

But  far  worse  than  all  these  evils  are  the  temp¬ 
tations  to  which  working  girls  are  only  too  fre¬ 
quently  exposed  in  offices,  shops  and  other  places 
of  employment.  Besides  their  service,  the  price 
of  their  virtue  is  asked.  This  holds  true  not 
merely  in  isolated  cases,  but  in  countless  instances 
to  which  any  man  of  experience  can  personally 
point.  In  all  such  infamous  violations  of  morality 
there  should  be  absolutely  no  mercy  shown  by  the 


268 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


law  to  the  brutal  seducer.  Yet  who,  ordinarily, 
in  any  particular  case,  is  ever  concerned  about 
this  most  hideous  of  all  the  phases  of  our  modern 
commercialism  ? 

Here  is  a  picture  drawn  some  years  ago  in  the 
Outlook .  It  tells  but  a  small  part  of  the  story, 
but  we  can  readily  understand  the  rest.  The 
writer  briefly  relates  the  grievances  of  the  woman 
workers  as  gathered  at  the  time  of  a  laundry 
strike.  It  is  again,  we  are  advised,  the  “  Song  of 
the  Shirt,”  yet  this  time,  not  of  its  sewing,  but  of 
its  washing: 

“The  girls  and  women  have  told  me  of  the  inhumanly  hard 
work  in  the  busy  and  holiday  seasons  —  eighteen,  nineteen  and 
twenty  hours  at  a  stretch.  I  have  heard  of  the  washers’  terrible 
attacks  of  rheumatism  from  standing  day  after  day,  and  week 
after  week,  ankle-deep  in  water  in  the  wash  kitchens;  I  have 
heard  of  fingers  lost  in  the  mangle  and  other  machines;  of  the 
young  girls  who  fall  like  flies,  as  one  of  the  strikers  put  it,  in 
the  terrific  hot  weather  during  the  summer.  And  there  are  con¬ 
ditions  in  the  laundry  industry  that  one  cannot  even  speak  about 
i —  that  one  can  only  suggest — when  girls  and  women  and  men 
work  together  long,  monotonous  hours  where  there  is  absolutely 
no  privacy,  no  chance  for  decency  and  self-respect.  Perhaps  one 
woman  told  the  whole  sad  story  when  she  said:  ‘Little  Katie, 
she  was  such  a  nice  little  girl  when  she  first  came  to  this  laundry, 
but  I  nearly  died  when  I  saw  her  in  them  grand  clothes  in  the 
street.’  ” 


That  indeed  is  the  saddest  and  the  most  inhuman 
part  of  it  all!  In  the  private  office,  as  well  as  in 


WELFARE  OF  THE  WOMAN  LABORER  269 

the  store  and  factory,  is  that  last  tragic  chapter 
enacted  all  too  often.  Economic  necessity,  human 
frailty  and  perhaps  the  lure  of  fine  clothing,  are 
the  setting  for  the  scene.  Yet  the  law  has  rarely 
touched  this  evil. 

Can  women,  then,  be  too  circumspect?  Can 
they  fail  to  see  the  wisdom  of  the  Holy  Father’s 
words?  Can  occupations  be  deliberately  chosen 
by  them,  or  for  them,  which  must  of  necessity  do 
violence  to  that  spirit  of  modesty  and  purity  which 
is  the  jewel  of  woman’s  soul,  and  which  can  be  so 
readily  lost  by  her  at  any  unguarded  moment. 
That  modesty,  we  know,  has  been  made  cheap  and 
vile  upon  the  stage  and  in  the  movies,  in  our  illus¬ 
trated  magazines  and  Sunday  supplements,  and  in 
so  much  of  our  sensuous,  sexual,  novel  literature; 
but  in  the  name  of  all  that  is  sacred,  let  Christian 
men  and  women  not  stand  by  and  permit  the  poor 
working  girl  to  be  robbed  of  the  one  treasure 
she  possesses.  Nothing  in  all  our  modern  social 
work  and  social  literature  is  more  inhuman  and 
diabolic  than  the  constant  and  studied  attempt,  in 
the  name  of  progress  and  evolution,  to  destroy  the 
modesty  of  woman. 

The  working  woman  needs  protection,  the  pro¬ 
tection  of  Christian  men  and  women,  the  protec- 


270 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


tion  of  the  law  against  all  unwomanly  conditions. 
She  requires  reasonable  hours,  the  minimum  wage, 
the  abolition  of  night  work,  the  safeguarding  of 
her  maternity  and  fecundity,  the  abolition  of  child 
labor,  the  removal  of  all  circumstances  that  expose 
her  to  physical  injury  and  above  all  the  conserva¬ 
tion  of  her  modesty,  her  decency,  her  purity.  We 
cannot  be  indifferent  in  this  great  matter.  As  are 
the  mothers,  so  will  be  the  race. 

Here  again  we  can  profitably  revert  to  war 
regulations,  made  when  the  employment  of 
women  was  incomparably  more  necessary  than  it 
ever  can  be  in  the  normal  days  of  peace.  The 
following  orders  of  General  Crozier,  setting  the 
standard  for  woman  labor,  deserve  more  than 
passing  attention: 

Existing  legal  standards  should  be  rigidly  maintained,  and 
even  where  the  law  permits  a  nine  or  ten  hour  day,  effort 
should  be  made  to  restrict  the  work  of  women  to  eight  hours. 

The  employment  of  women  on  night  shifts  should  be  pre¬ 
vented  as  a  necessary  protection,  morally  and  physically. 

No  women  should  be  employed  for  a  longer  period  than  four 
and  a  half  hours  without  a  break  for  a  meal,  and  a  recess 
of  10  minutes  should  be  allowed  in  the  middle  of  each  working 
period. 

At  least  30  minutes  should  be  allowed  for  a  meal,  and  this 
time  should  be  lengthened  to  45  minutes  or  aa  hour  if  the 
working  day  exceeds  eight  hours.  Meals  should  not  be  eaten 
in  the  workroom. 

The  Saturday  half-holiday  should  be  considered  at  abso¬ 
lute  essential  for  women  under  all  conditions. 


WELFARE  OF  THE  WOMAN  LABORER  27 1 


For  women  who  sit  at  their  work,  seats  with  backs  should 
be  provided  unless  the  occupation  renders  this  impossible.  For 
women  who  stand  at  work,  seats  should  be  available  and  their 
use  permitted  at  regular  intervals. 

No  woman  should  be  required  to  lift  repeatedly  more  than 
25  pounds  in  any  single  load. 

When  it  is  necessary  to  employ  women  in  work  hitherto 
done  by  men  care  should  be  taken  to  make  sure  that  the  task 
is  adapted  to  the  strength  of  women.  The  standards  of  wages 
hitherto  prevailing  for  men  in  the  process  should  not  be  low¬ 
ered  where  women  render  equivalent  service.  The  hours  for 
women  engaged  in  such  processes,  of  course,  should  not  be 
longer  than  those  formerly  worked  by  men. 

No  work  shall  be  given  out  to  be  done  in  rooms  used  for 
living  purposes,  or  in  rooms  directly  connected  with  living 
rooms  in  any  dwelling  or  tenement. 

There  is  need  of  organization  on  the  part  of 
the  Church.  Social  and  economic,  as  well  as  re¬ 
ligious  instruction  must  be  given  to  our  girls  that 
they  may  help  themselves  and  aid  others,  for  they 
have  a  great  duty  towards  each  other.  No  power 
is  so  great  in  their  world  of  thought,  no  influence 
is  so  trusted  and  obeyed,  as  the  power  and  influ¬ 
ence  of  the  Catholic  Church.  It  must  therefore 
be  used  to  the  utmost  for  the  salvation  of  modern 
woman,  and  in  particular  of  the  working  woman, 
who  in  all  her  needs,  her  struggles  and  temptations 
must  ever  be  most  dear  to  the  heart  of  the  Church. 


CHAPTER  XXV 


CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY 

HRISTIAN  Democracy  is  the  highest  ex¬ 
pression  of  social  science  illuminated  by 
the  light  of  faith.  The  name  itself,  as 
Pope  Leo  XIII  was  careful  to  explain,  is  not 
meant  to  convey  any  political  significance.  There 
is  question  solely  of  a  democracy  of  social  en¬ 
deavor,  a  “  popular  action  ”  for  the  common  wel¬ 
fare  in  which  all  alike  are  to  participate.  It  does 
not  preclude  the  efficacy  of  the  ballot,  but  rather 
supposes  the  full  and  intelligent  Christian  use  of 
it  as  a  powerful  means  for  the  promotion  of  social 
justice. 

Christian  Democracy  is  based  upon  the  funda¬ 
mental  truth  that  society  is  a  moral  organism:  a 
social  body  all  the  members  of  which  are  united 
for  a  common  purpose,  by  a  common  bond  of 
brotherhood,  under  the  common  fatherhood  of 
God.  “  No  one  lives  in  a  community  for  his 
personal  advantage  only,”  says  Pope  Leo  XIII 

272 


CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY 


273 


in  his  Encyclical  on  u  Christian  Democracy,”  cited 
throughout  this  chapter;  “  he  lives  for  the  com¬ 
mon  good  also.”  Each  member  is  therefore  to 
contribute  his  own  share  towards  the  welfare  of 
the  entire  body,  and  that  body,  in  turn,  must 
reasonably  provide  for  the  welfare  of  its  indi¬ 
vidual  members.  In  every  conflict  between  pri¬ 
vate  and  public  interests  the  former  must  yield 
to  the  latter,  since  the  common  good  is  the  su¬ 
preme  social  law.  This,  however,  does  not  imply 
the  Socialistic  abrogation  of  inviolable  individual 
rights.  It  does  not  imply  the  negation  of  all 
private  capital,  but  its  proper  restriction  and  regu¬ 
lation.  Due  precedence  must,  moreover,  be  given 
to  all  the  interests  of  a  higher  order.  Right  rea¬ 
son  demands  that  spiritual  claims  prevail  over 
merely  temporal  considerations. 

Christian  Democracy  is  earnestly  concerned 
for  the  welfare  of  all  classes  of  society,  yet  it 
openly  professes  to  devote  itself  primarily  to  the 
interests  of  the  poor,  since  they,  in  particular, 
stand  in  need  of  its  assistance.  Its  chief  aim  is 
thus  expressed  by  the  Sovereign  Pontiff : 

To  make  the  conditions  of  those  who  toil  more  tolerable;  to 
enable  them  to  obtain,  little  by  little,  those  means  by  which  they 
may  provide  for  the  future;  to  help  them  to  practise  in  public 
and  in  private  the  duties  which  morality  and  religion  inculcate; 


274 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


to  aid  them  to  feel  that  they  are  not  animals  but  men,  not 
heathens  but  Christians,  and  so  to  enable  them  to  strive  more 
zealously  and  more  eagerly  for  the  one  thing  which  is  necessary: 
that  ultimate  good  for  which  we  are  all  born  into  this  world. 
This  is  the  intention;  this  is  the  work  of  those  who  wish  that  the 
people  should  be  animated  by  Christian  sentiments  and  should 
be  protected  from  the  contamination  of  Socialism  which  threatens 
them. 

Christian  Democray,  in  a  word,  is  not  satisfied 
with  a  national  prosperity,  which  may  be  based 
entirely  upon  the  excessive  wealth  of  a  privileged 
class,  but  seeks  to  bring  about  a  public  prosperity 
in  which  all  alike  can  share  in  due  measure.  It 
has  no  fatuous  delusions  about  a  Socialistic  aboli¬ 
tion  of  classes,  but  neither  will  it  admit  the  denial, 
in  practical  life,  of  the  brotherhood  of  men. 
Therefore  it  demands  a  mutual  love  and  consid¬ 
eration  and  a  just  regard  for  the  full  dignity  of 
every  human  being  made  to  the  likeness  of  God. 
It  will  bitterly  fight  the  attempts  of  Socialism  to 
interfere  with  the  individual  rights  of  citizens, 
whether  capitalists  or  laborers,  but  it  will  not  less 
fearlessly  erect  an  adamantine  wall  of  public 
opinion  and  civil  law  against  the  encroachments 
of  liberalistic  capitalism,  based  not  upon  individual 
right  but  upon  individual  privilege  opposed  to  the 
common  good. 

There  is  one  lesson,  above  all  others,  which  it 


CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY 


275 


would  bring  home  to  the  hearts  of  men,  and  this 
is  that  no  social  regeneration  is  possible  in  our 
century,  or  in  any  century,  except  by  the  aid  of 
religion : 


It  is  the  opinion  of  some,  and  the  error  is  already  very  com¬ 
mon,  that  the  social  question  is  merely  an  economic  one,  whereas 
in  point  of  fact  it  is  above  all  a  moral  and  religious  matter,  and 
for  that  reason  must  be  settled  by  the  principles  of  morality  and 
according  to  the  dictates  of  religion.  For  even  though  wages  are 
doubled  and  the  hours  of  labor  are  shortened  and  food  is  cheap¬ 
ened,  yet  if  the  workingman  hearkens  to  the  doctrines  that  are 
taught  on  this  subject,  as  he  is  prone  to  do,  and  is  prompted  by 
the  examples  set  before  him  to  throw  off  respect  for  God  and  to 
enter  upon  a  life  of  immorality,  his  labors  and  his  gain  will  avail 
him  naught. 

So  likewise  the  additional  profits  of  rationalistic 
capitalism,  without  regard  for  God  and  His  Com¬ 
mandments,  will  be  new  millstones  hung  around 
its  neck  to  sink  it  deeper  into  perdition.  Nothing 
can  ever  still  the  unrest  of  a  State  in  which  godless 
labor  is  gathering  its  resources  for  a  combat 
against  equally  godless  capitalism.  Neither  will 
ever  be  satisfied;  neither  will  ever  say  enough, 
whether  there  be  question  of  wages  on  the  one 
side  or  profits  on  the  other.  The  law  of  force 
alone  restrains  them,  and  when  this  dam  is  broken 
nothing  but  the  deluge  can  follow.  Labor  and 
capital  will  alike  be  involved  in  the  common  ruin. 
To  save  civilization  from  this  impending  catas- 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


27  6 

trophe,  Pope  Leo  XIII  solemnly  sent  forth  his 
warning  to  the  world: 

The  condition  of  things  at  present  proclaims,  and  proclaims 
vehemently,  that  there  is  need  for  a  union  of  brave  minds  with 
all  the  resources  they  can  command.  The  harvest  of  misery  is 
before  our  eyes,  and  the  dreadful  projects  of  the  most  disastrous 
national  upheavals  are  threatening  us  from  the  growing  power 
of  the  Socialistic  movement. 

Hence  the  imperative  need  of  the  Christian 
Democratic  movement,  equally  opposed  to  So¬ 
cialism  on  the  one  hand  and  to  rationalistic  capital¬ 
ism  on  the  other.  While  this  method  is  distin¬ 
guished  from  Socialism  by  the  fact  that  it  pre¬ 
serves  inviolate  all  the  true  rights  of  property,  it 
is  no  less  sharply  contrasted  with  unrestrained 
capitalism  by  its  demand  for  a  regulation  and  re¬ 
striction  of  the  power  and  privilege  of  private 
capital,  wherever  they  are  detrimental  to  the  pub¬ 
lic  welfare.  In  opposition  to  Socialism,  Christian 
Democracy  would  preserve  industrial  freedom  and 
economic  initiative  as  the  mainsprings  of  national 
prosperity,  but  in  equal  opposition  to  encroach¬ 
ing  capitalism  it  would  firmly  set  for  it  the  bounds 
defined  by  the  greater  good  of  the  entire  people. 

Christian  Democracy  is  the  golden  mean  be¬ 
tween  the  two  destructive  extremes  of  Socialistic 
and  capitalistic  excesses.  It  favors  free  coopera- 


CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  277 

tion  and  such  a  measure  of  municipal  or  govern¬ 
ment  ownership  of  public-service  utilities  as  can 
best  contribute  to  the  general  advantage  of  all  the 
citizens.  On  the  other  hand  k  strenuously  op¬ 
poses  the  fallacy  that  all  productive  property 
should  be  made  national  or  public.  This  would 
be  a  calamity  for  labor  and  capital  alike.  It  is 
in  violation  of  all  the  teachings  of  history  and  de¬ 
structive  of  the  common  good  as  well  as  of  the 
last  measure  of  human  liberty.  It  would  aggra¬ 
vate  the  very  evils  from  which  we  are  seeking  to 
escape  by  an  enlightened  legislation  and  a  more 
Christian  conception  of  social  relations  and  social 
duties.  Christian  Democracy  comes  as  the  one 
true  liberator  of  mankind  from  economic  injustice 
and  the  one  great  teacher  of  Christian  charity.  It 
would  bring  about  a  wider  distribution  of  private 
ownership,  whereas  Socialism  would  place  upon 
all  alike  its  relentless  yoke  of  tyranny  and  State 
absolutism. 

Much  of  the  success  of  Socialism  comes  from 
the  use  of  Christian  Democratic  measures  as  step¬ 
ping  stones  to  its  own  pernicious  ends.  These 
measures,  though  deprived  of  their  religious  mo¬ 
tives  and  often  rendered  unjust  or  revolutionary 
in  their  Socialistic  application,  still  contain  at  least 


278  THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 

a  remnant  of  Christian  truth  which  is  used  as  a 
bait  for  the  unwary.  Socialism,  for  this  reason, 
has  become  more  dangerous  than  ever.  The  time 
approaches  when  even  the  elect  may  be  deceived. 

No  one,  therefore,  can  fail  to  understand  how 
important  it  is  that  the  principles  of  Christian 
Democracy  be  firmly  grasped  by  all  Christians. 
It  is  no  time  for  mere  defensive  warfare. 
Though  combating  Socialism  on  the  one  hand 
and  rationalistic  capitalism  on  the  other,  we  must 
lift  on  high  our  own  glorious  standard.  Aggres¬ 
sive  action  is  required.  The  teachings  of  the 
Gospel  and  of  the  natural  law  must  be  firmly  but 
carefully  applied  to  all  the  great  social  and  eco¬ 
nomic  problems  of  the  day. 

The  guidance  of  the  Church  is  furthermore 
necessary  that  men  may  not  be  misled  by  the 
utterly  unwarranted  interpretations  constantly 
given  to  the  Scriptures  themselves  by  Socialists 
who  deny  the  Divinity  of  Christ  and  would  make 
of  Him  a  purely  revolutionary  agitator.  Hence 
the  need  of  a  clear,  consistent,  Christian  Demo¬ 
cratic  movement  which,  by  the  cogency  and  mod¬ 
eration  of  its  arguments,  can  unite  all  men  of 
good-will. 

While  Christian  Democracy  relentlessly  opposes 


CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY  279 

the  oppression  of  the  poor,  it  likewise  demands 
justice  for  the  wealthier  classes  and  seeks  their 
cooperation  no  less  than  that  of  the  laboring  men. 
It  is  not,  like  Socialism  or  individualistic  capital¬ 
ism,  a  mere  class  system.  Like  the  Church  and 
the  Gospel,  on  which  it  is  founded,  it  is  intended 
for  all  alike.  There  is  no  Christian  who  cannot 
and  should  not  be  a  Christian  Democrat.  His 
Christian  faith  demands  no  less  of  him,  if  the 
Gospel  of  Christ  is  to  have  its  practical  applica¬ 
tion  in  his  life. 

Christian  Democracy  is  not  content  with 
merely  defending  the  just  rights  of  the  rich  as 
well  as  of  the  poor,  but  it  likewise  recalls  to  both 
their  sacred  duties.  While  the  latter  may  not 
transgress  the  laws  of  Christian  morality,  the 
former,  too,  are  bidden  to  bear  in  mind  that  their 
responsibilities  are  in  direct  proportion  to  the 
greatness  of  the  temporal  benefits  they  have  re¬ 
ceived.  “  We  wish  them  to  understand,”  says 
Pope  Leo  XIII,  “  that  they  are  not  at  all  free  to 
look  after  or  neglect  those  who  happen  to  be  be¬ 
neath  them,  but  that  it  is  a  strict  duty  which  binds 
them.” 

Christian  Democracy  is  the  consummation  of 
Christian  charity  no  less  than  of  social  justice.  It 


28o 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


is  the  practical  application  of  the  Ten  Command¬ 
ments  and  of  the  twofold  law  of  love  which  em¬ 
braces  them  all.  It  seeks  to  provide  for  the  souls 
of  men  while  caring  for  their  temporal  welfare. 
It  goes  about  in  the  spirit  of  Christ,  with  malice 
towards  no  man,  with  good-will  for  all,  battling 
for  justice  and  the  reign  of  love  in  the  hearts  of 
all  mankind. 

We  have  spoken  much  of  social  justice,  but  we 
must  not  forget  that  there  is  also  a  law  of  Chris¬ 
tian  charity  which  must  be  no  less  insisted  upon 
in  the  mutual  relations  between  capital  and  labor, 
employer  and  employed. 

A  special  characteristic  by  which  Our  Lord 
wished  His  disciples  to  be  distinguished  from  the 
pagan  world  about  them  was  to  be  their  love  for 
one  another.  This  would  of  necessity  express 
itself  in  outward  acts  of  mutual  service.  Great¬ 
ness  of  opportunity  was  to  bring  with  it  only  in¬ 
crease  of  service.  Thus  the  Head  of  the  well- 
nigh  three  hundred  million  Faithful  throughout 
the  world  today,  the  Vicegerent  of  Christ,  the 
direct  successor  of  him  to  whom  Christ  committed 
the  keys  of  His  Kingdom,  still  rejoices  in  the  simple 
title  which  he  officially  bears,  “  Servant  of  the 
servants  of  God.”  Such  service  does  not  dimin- 


CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY 


28l 


ish  authority,  since  authority  is  derived  from  God, 
but  its  purpose  is  to  join  high  and  low,  rich  and 
poor,  capital  and  labor,  in  one  Christian  unity  of 
love  for  the  promotion  of  the  common  good. 
This  principle  of  mutual  service,  which  is  the 
pivot  of  Christian  social  life  and  government,  the 
Gentile  world  had  never  been  able  to  understand: 

You  know  that  they  who  seem  to  rule  over  the  Gentiles,  lord 
it  over  them:  and  their  princes  have  power  over  them. 

But  it  is  not  so  among  you:  but  whosoever  will  be  greater  shall 
be  your  minister. 

And  whosoever  will  be  the  first  among  you,  shall  be  the  servant 
of  all. 

Service  is  the  duty  of  every  Christian  and  every 
citizen.  It  was  because  capitalism  too  often  for¬ 
got  this  truth  that  Socialism  became  possible.  In 
proportion  as  Christianity  lost  its  sway  over  the 
hearts  of  men  the  masses  were  once  more  re¬ 
garded  as  destined  only  to  labor  for  the  wealth, 
luxury  and  power  of  the  rich.  No  wonder  that 
the  multitudes,  thus  divested  of  their  dignity  as 
Christians,  in  turn  lost  the  true  concept  of  service, 
and  that  oppression  on  the  one  hand  and  revolu¬ 
tion  on  the  other  replaced  the  law  of  mutual  Chris¬ 
tian  love  and  service.  So  the  divine  order  of  so¬ 
ciety,  in  which  love  was  to  be  the  quickening  soul 
and  service  the  visible,  ministering  body  of  Chris- 


282 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


tian  life,  was  converted  into  social  chaos,  envy  and 
hatred.  Hence  Pope  Benedict  XV,  at  his  acces¬ 
sion  to  the  Papal  Chair,  in  the  midst  of  the  great 
world  war,  was  forced  to  write: 


Never  perhaps  was  human  brotherhood  more  spoken  of  than 
at  present.  It  is  even  pretended,  though  the  words  of  the  Gos¬ 
pel  and  the  work  of  Christ  and  His  Church  are  forgotten,  that 
this  fraternal  zeal  is  one  of  the  most  precious  features  of  mod¬ 
ern  civilization.  But  the  truth  is  that  never  was  human  frater¬ 
nity  so  little  practised  as  it  is  today.  Race-hatred  is  most  bitter. 
Nations  are  divided  more  by  rancor  than  by  natural  boundaries. 
In  one  and  the  same  country  and  within  the  walls  of  the  same 
city  different  classes  of  the  citizens  hate  one  another,  and  amongst 
individuals  everything  is  governed  by  selfishness  as  a  supreme 
law. 


Never,  therefore,  he  adds,  “  Shall  we  grow 
weary  of  urging  upon  men  to  give  effect  to  the 
teaching  of  the  Apostle  St.  John:  ‘Love  one 
another.’  ”  Christian  Democracy  is  the  appli¬ 
cation  of  this  love  to  our  social  life.  Love  is  the 
fulfilment  of  the  law.  The  laborer  asks  not  for 
alms:  he  has  a  claim  to  justice.  But  when  all 
justice  has  been  fulfilled  the  question  of  charity 
still  remains.  There  is  charity  towards  the  em¬ 
ployer  as  well  as  charity  towards  the  laborer,  and 
there  may  at  times  be  great  need  of  both. 

The  love  of  our  neighbor,  St.  Teresa  says,  is 
the  surest  test  by  which  to  gage  our  love  of  God , 
and  St.  John  in  the  ardor  of  his  charity  exclaims: 


CHRISTIAN  DEMOCRACY 


283 


If  any  man  say,  I  love  God,  and  hateth  his  brother;  he  is  a 
liar.  For  he  that  loveth  not  his  brother,  whom  he  seeth,  how 
can  he  love  God,  whom  he  seeth  not? 

And  this  commandment  we  hare  from  God,  that  he  who  loveth 
God,  love  also  his  brother. —  I  John  iv,  20,  21. 

Neither  radical  Socialist  nor  rationalistic  Capi¬ 
talist  is  excluded  from  this  love,  that  arises  out  of 
the  common  brotherhood  of  all  and  is  rooted  far 
deeper  in  the  love  of  God.  We  abhor  their 
errors  but  pray  that  we  may  win  them  to  unite 
with  us  in  the  great  task  of  the  establishment  of 
a  true  Christian  Democracy  upon  the  earth. 

This  love,  to  correspond  to  the  true  ideal  pro¬ 
posed  to  us  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  must  be  ani¬ 
mated  by  the  great  purpose  of  seeking  only  the 
service  of  God  in  our  service  of  the  neighbor.  It 
is  necessary  to  remind  Catholics  themselves,  in 
these  days  of  vaunting  reformers,  philanthropists 
and  self-advertised  agents  of  u  social  uplift,”  that 
the  Lord  is  not  in  the  whirl-wind.  The  super¬ 
natural  worth  of  our  actions  consists  in  the  fact 
that  they  are  performed  by  us  as  disciples  of 
Christ,  in  His  name,  for  His  sake  and  for  the 
glory  of  God.  “  And  whosoever  shall  give  to 
drink  to  one  of  these  little  ones  a  cup  of  cold  water 
only  in  the  na>me  of  a  disciple ,  amen  I  say  to  you, 


284  THE  world  problem 

he  shall  not  lose  his  reward.”  In  this  therefore 
lies  the  essence  of  Christian  service,  the  prime 
motive  of  Christian  Democracy,  that  in  the  name 
of  Christ  we  become  other  saviors  of  men,  tem¬ 
porally  and  spiritually,  by  the  grace  of  God. 

Perfectly  to  accomplish  our  mission  we  have 
need  above  all  things  of  social  education.  Liter¬ 
ature  and  lecture  courses  are  indispensable,  but 
there  is  also  an  imperative  demand  for  Catholic 
schools  of  sociology.  The  Church  has  fully  un¬ 
derstood  this  important  fact,  and  hence  the  many 
institutions  now  devoted  to  this  high  purpose. 
Individual  action  will  no  longer  suffice.  Scientific 
knowledge  and  scientific  training  are  everywhere 
desired.  Catholics  must  be  in  the  van  of  progress 
and  they  can  be  so  only  through  a  thorough  sys¬ 
tem  of  social  education. 

While  the  trend  of  the  world’s  best  thought  is 
all  towards  Catholic  ideals  there  is  still  much  un¬ 
soundness  of  principle  in  the  social  literature  and 
social  teaching  of  our  day.  Nothing  therefore 
can  be  more  important  than  the  safe  and  certain 
guidance  of  the  Church  through  social  education. 


OUR  SOCIAL  AIMS  IN  BRIEF 


As  expressed  in  the  Encyclical  of  Pope  Pius  X  on  Catholic  Social 

Action,  addressed  to  the  Bishops  of  Italy,  June  n,  1905. 

I.  To  combat  anti-Christian  civilization  by 
every  just  and  lawful  means,  and  to  repair  in  every 
way  the  grievous  disorders  which  flow  from  it. 

II.  To  reinstate  Jesus  Christ  in  the  family, 
the  school  and  society. 

III.  To  reestablish  the  principle  that  human 
authority  represents  that  of  God. 

IV.  To  take  close  to  our  heart  the  interests  of 
the  people,  especially  those  of  the  working  and 
agricultural  classes f  not  only  by  the  inculcation  of 
religion,  the  only  true  source  of  comfort  in  the 
sorrows  of  life,  but  also  by  striving  to  dry  their 
tears,  to  soothe  their  sufferings,  and  by  wise 
measures  to  improve  their  economic  conditions. 

V.  To  endeavor,  consequently,  to  make  public 
laws  conformable  to  justice,  and  to  amend  or  sup¬ 
press  those  which  are  not  so. 

285 


286 


THE  WORLD  PROBLEM 


VI.  Finally,  with  a  true  Catholic  spirit,  to  de¬ 
fend  and  support  the  rights  of  God  in  everything, 
and  no  less  the  sacred  rights  of  the  Church. 

Instaurare  omnia  in  Christo 
“  To  restore  all  things  in  Christ.” 


APPENDIX 


LABOR  PASTORAL  OF  AMERICAN 

BISHOPS 

The  author  is  glad  to  avail  himself  of  the  op¬ 
portunity  of  inserting  here  the  latter  portion  of 
the  American  Bishops’  document  on  “  Social  Re¬ 
construction,”  which  appeared  shortly  after  the 
first  impression  of  his  book.  This  part  deals  with 
the  “  Ultimate  and  Fundamental  Reforms  ”  that 
were  proposed  by  the  Committee  on  Special  War 
Activities  of  the  National  Catholic  War  Council, 
after  the  measures  of  instant  urgency  had  been 
discussed.  Among  the  latter  particular  attention 
should  be  called,  however,  to  one  vital  passage 
dealing  with  “  Labor’s  Participation  in  Industrial 
Management.”  The  Bishops  say: 

Labor  ought  gradually  to  receive  greater  representation  in 
what  the  English  group  of  Quaker  employers  have  called  the 
“industrial”  part  of  business  management — “the  control  of 
processes  and  machinery;  nature  of  product;  engagement  and 
dismissal  of  employees ;  hours  of  work,  rates  of  pay,  bonuses, 
etc.;  welfare  work;  shop  discipline;  relations  with  trade-unions.” 
The  establishment  of  shop  committees,  working  wherever  pos¬ 
sible  with  the  trade-union,  is  the  method  suggested  by  this  group 
of  employers  for  giving  the  employees  the  proper  share  of  in- 

287 


288 


APPENDIX 


dustrial  management.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  a  frank 
adoption  of  these  means  and  ends  by  employers  would  not  only 
promote  the  welfare  of  the  workers  but  vastly  improve  the  rela¬ 
tions  between  them  and  their  employees,  and  increase  the  effi¬ 
ciency  and  productiveness  of  each  establishment. 

As  a  systematic  pronouncement  for  the  future 
and  a  philosophic  foundation  the  following  ulti¬ 
mate  aims  are  then  proposed  by  the  Bishops. 

) 

ULTIMATE  AND  FUNDAMENTAL  REFORMS 

It  seems  clear  that  the  present  industrial  system  is  destined 
to  last  for  a  long  time  in  its  main  outlines.  That  is  to  say, 
private  ownership  of  capital  is  not  likely  to  be  supplanted  by  a 
collectivist  organization  of  industry  at  a  date  sufficiently  near 
to  justify  any  present  action  based  on  the  hypothesis  of  its  ar¬ 
rival.  This  forecast  we  recognize  as  not  only  extremely  prob¬ 
able  but  as  highly  desirable;  for,  other  objections  apart,  Social¬ 
ism  would  mean  bureaucracy,  political  tyranny,  the  helplessness 
of  the  individual  as  a  factor  in  the  ordering  of  his  own  life,  and 
in  general  social  inefficiency  and  decadence. 

MAIN  DEFECTS  OF  PRESENT  SYSTEM 

Nevertheless,  the  present  system  stands  in  grievous  need  of 
considerable  modifications  and  improvement.  Its  main  defects 
are  three:  Enormous  inefficiency  and  waste  in  the  production 
and  distribution  of  commodities;  insufficient  incomes  for  the 
great  majority  of  wage  earners,  and  unnecessarily  large  incomes 
for  a  small  minority  of  privileged  capitalists.  The  evils  in  pro¬ 
duction  and  in  the  distribution  of  goods  would  be  in  great  mea¬ 
sure  abolished  by  the  reforms  that  have  been  outlined  in  the  fore¬ 
going  pages.  Production  will  be  greatly  increased  by  universal 
living  wages,  by  adequate  industrial  education,  and  by  harmon¬ 
ious  relations  between  labor  and  capital  on  the  basis  of  ade¬ 
quate  participation  by  the  former  in  all  the  industrial  aspects 
of  business  management.  The  wastes  of  commodity  distribution 


APPENDIX 


289 

could  be  practically  all  eliminated  by  cooperative  mercantile  es¬ 
tablishments  and  cooperative  selling  and  marketing  associations. 

COOPERATION  AND  COPARTNERSHIP 

Nevertheless,  the  full  possibilities  of  increased  production  will 
not  be  realized  so  long  as  the  majority  of  the  workers  remain 
mere  wage  earners.  The  majority  must  somehow  become 
owners,  or  at  least  in  part,  of  the  instruments  of  production. 
They  can  be  enabled  to  reach  this  stage  gradually  through  co¬ 
operative  productive  societies  and  copartnership  arrangements. 
In  the  former  the  workers  own  and  manage  the  industries  them¬ 
selves;  in  the  latter  they  own  a  substantial  part  of  the  corporate 
stock  and  exercise  a  reasonable  share  in  the  management.  How¬ 
ever  slow  the  attainment  of  these  ends,  they  will  have  to  be 
reached  before  we  can  have  a  thoroughly  efficient  system  of 
production,  or  an  industrial  and  social  order  that  will  be  secure 
from  the  danger  of  revolution.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  this  par¬ 
ticular  modification  of  the  existing  order,  though  far-reaching 
and  involving  to  a  great  extent  the  abolition  of  the  wage  system, 
would  not  mean  the  abolition  of  private  ownership.  The  in¬ 
struments  of  production  would  still  be  owned  by  individuals,  not 
by  the  State. 


INCREASED  INCOMES  FOR  LABOR 

The  second  great  evil,  that  of  insufficient  income  for  the 
majority,  can  be  removed  only  by  providing  the  workers  with 
more  income.  This  means  not  only  universal  living  wages,  but 
the  opportunity  of  obtaining  something  more  than  that  amount 
for  all  who  are  willing  to  work  hard  and  faithfully.  All  the 
other  measures  for  labor  betterment  recommended  in  the  pre¬ 
ceding  pages  would  likewise  contribute  directly  or  indirectly  to  a 
more  just  distribution  of  wealth  in  the  interest  of  the  laborer. 

ABOLITION  AND  CONTROL  OF  MONOPOLIES 

For  the  third  evil  mentioned  above,  excessive  gains  by  a  small 
minority  of  privileged  capitalists,  the  main  remedies  are  pre¬ 
vention  of  monopolistic  control  of  commodities,  adequate  Gov- 


290 


APPENDIX 


eminent  regulation  of  such  public-service  monopolies  as  will 
remain  under  private  operation,  and  heavy  taxation  of  incomes, 
excess  profits,  and  inheritances.  The  precise  methods  by  which 
genuine  competition  may  be  restored  and  maintained  among 
businesses  that  are  naturally  competitive  can  not  be  discussed 
here,  but  the  principle  is  clear  that  human  beings  can  not  be 
trusted  with  the  immense  opportunities  for  oppression  and  ex¬ 
tortion  that  go  with  the  possession  of  monopoly  power.  That 
the  owners  of  public-service  monopolies  should  be  restricted  by 
law  to  a  fair  or  average  return  on  their  actual  investment  has 
long  been  a  recognized  principle  of  the  courts,  the  legislatures, 
and  public  opinion.  It  is  a  principle  which  should  be  applied  to 
competitive  enterprises  likewise,  with  the  qualification  that  some¬ 
thing  more  than  the  average  rate  of  return  should  be  allowed  to 
men  who  exhibit  exceptional  efficiency.  However,  good  public 
policy,  as  well  as  equity,  demands  that  these  exceptional  business 
men  share  the  fruits  of  their  efficiency  with  the  consumer  in  the 
form  of  lower  prices.  The  man  who  utilizes  his  ability  to  pro¬ 
duce  cheaper  than  his  competitors  for  the  purpose  of  exacting 
from  the  public  as  high  a  price  for  his  product  as  is  necessary  for 
the  least  efficient  business  man  is  a  menace  rather  than  a  benefit 
to  industry  and  society. 

Our  immense  war  debt  constitutes  a  particular  reason  why 
incomes  and  excess  profits  should  continue  to  be  heavily  taxed. 
In  this  way  two  important  ends  will  be  obtained  —  the  poor  will 
be  relieved  of  injurious  tax  burdens  and  the  small  class  of  spe¬ 
cially  privileged  capitalists  wll  be  compelled  to  return  a  part 
of  their  unearned  gains  to  society. 

A  NEW  SPIRIT  OF  VITAL  NEED 

u  Society,”  said  Pope  Leo  XIII,  “  can  be  healed  in  no  other 
way  than  by  a  return  to  Christian  life  and  Christian  institutions.” 
The  truth  of  these  words  is  more  widely  perceived  to-day  than 
when  they  were  written,  more  than  twenty-seven  years  ago. 
Changes  in  our  economic  and  political  systems  will  have  only 
partial  and  feeble  efficiency  if  they  be  not  reinforced  by  the 
Christian  view  of  work  and  wealth.  Neither  the  moderate  re¬ 
forms  advocated  in  this  paper  nor  any  other  program  of  better- 


APPENDIX 


291 


ment  or  reconstruction  will  prove  reasonably  effective  without  a 
reform  in  the  spirit  of  both  labor  and  capital.  The  laborer  must 
come  to  realize  that  he  owes  his  employer  and  society  an  honest 
day’s  work  in  return  for  a  fair  wage  and  that  conditions  can 
not  be  substantially  improved  until  he  roots  out  the  desire  to 
get  a  maximum  of  return  for  a  minimum  of  service.  The  cap¬ 
italist  must  likewise  get  a  new  viewpoint.  He  needs  to  learn 
the  long-forgotten  truth  that  wealth  is  stewardship;  that  profit 
making  is  not  the  basic  justification  of  business  enterprise;  and 
that  there  are  such  things  as  fair  profits,  fair  interest,  and  fair 
prices.  Above  and  before  all,  he  must  cultivate  and  strengthen 
within  his  mind  the  truth  which  many  of  his  class  have  begun  to 
grasp  for  the  first  time  during  the  present  war,  namely,  that  the 
laborer  is  a  human  being,  not  merely  an  instrument  of  produc¬ 
tion,  and  that  the  laborer’s  right  to  a  decent  livelihood  is  the  first 
moral  charge  upon  industry.  The  employer  has  a  right  to  get  a 
reasonable  living  out  of  his  business,  but  he  has  no  right  to 
interest  on  his  investment  until  his  employees  have  obtained  at 
least  living  wages.  This  is  the  human  and  Christian,  in  contrast 
to  the  purely  commercial  and  pagan,  ethics  of  industry. 


INDEX 


A 

Accident  insurance,  84-85. 

Agents,  68. 

Agrarian  problem,  14-X5, 
x54  if- 

Agrarian  Catholic  literature, 
169. 

Alphonsus,  St.,  prices,  49,  51. 

American  Federation  of  Labor 
News  Letter,  255. 

Apprentices,  171 ;  limitation  of, 
1 7  3-x  74- 

Arbitration,  1 17,  1 19-122. 

Archambault,  S.J.,  Rev.  J.  P., 
“  Le  Clerge  et  l’Action  so- 
ciale,”  214-215. 

Autocracies,  early,  189-190. 

B 

“Back  to  the  land,”  158. 

Banks:  popular  and  clergy, 
214-215;  Reiffeisen,  213, 
214-215;  Schulze-Delitzch 
popular  urban,  225. 

Benedict  XV,  on  brotherhood, 
282. 

Birth  Control,  145-146. 

Black  Death,  x88. 

Blackstone,  232. 

Bonus  plan,  219. 

Bourne,  Cardinal,  201. 


Boycott:  primary,  180;  second¬ 
ary,  1 80-1 8 1. 

Brotherhood,  185,  224;  Catho¬ 
lic,  185-186,  190,  274,  283; 
impossible  without  religion, 
X22. 

Brownson,  Orestes,  34. 

Bureaucratic  control  of  indus¬ 
try,  208. 

C 

Catholic  Church  in  its  relation 
to:  social  reform,  31,  272  ff.; 
labor,  75  ff.,  87;  civilization, 
109-110;  labor  organization, 
1 71  ff.;  woman,  241  ff. 

Catholic:  principles  and  mod¬ 
ern  social  ideas,  87,  191,  X98, 
209,  212;  traditions  revived, 
102-103,  209,  212-213,  217; 
reconstruction,  147-148,  230. 

Catholics,  social  duties  of,  78, 
191-192,  200. 

Capital :  honest,  7-8,  22 ;  moral 
use  of,  42;  fictitious,  55;  du¬ 
ties  in  regard  to,  99  ff. 

Capitalism,  rationalistic,  6, 
isff;  xxx ;  defined,  35,  36- 
37;  development  of,  40  ff.; 
Sombart’s  theory,  44  ff.; 
Pierre  L’Ermite,  165-168. 

Capitalization,  deceptive,  55. 


293 


INDEX 


294 

Cartage  charges,  68. 

Centralization  of  industries, 
209. 

Charity  and  Christian  Democ¬ 
racy,  279  ff. 

Child  labor,  83-84,  255;  in 
canneries,  255;  in  tenements, 
257;  moral  dangers  of,  83. 

Children  of  factory  mothers, 
83,  193.  265. 

Christian  Democracy:  its  defi¬ 
nition,  272;  its  ideals,  116, 
149-150,  272  ff.;  its  regard 
for  all  classes,  273,  276,  279; 
its  love  for  the  poor,  273; 
its  duties  for  the  rich,  279; 
its  love  for  God  and  the 
neighbor,  283. 

Civic  Federation,  National,  re¬ 
port  of,  197. 

Civilization:  relation  to  the 
Church,  109-110;  and  the 
farm,  154. 

Class  struggle,  8-9,  16,  104- 
106. 

Closed  Shop,  172-173. 

Collective  bargaining,  79. 

Combination  for  prices,  58. 

Commercialism,  36,  39;  ethics 

of,  37  ff->  44,  52- 

Commission  dealer,  68. 

Communism,  voluntary,  30; 
early  Christian,  221 ;  of  Re¬ 
ligious  Orders,  221-222. 

Compensation,  workmen’s,  197- 
198. 

Competition,  unfair,  22 ;  un¬ 
regulated,  39;  and  monopo¬ 
lies,  53-54. 


Confiscation,  and  prices,  60; 
and  Socialism,  233-234. 

Conciliation,  115,  117. 

Consumer,  45,  54,  65,  68-69, 

73-74,  195,  197- 

Control,  Government,  65,  195, 
204-205;  and  farmer,  160. 

Control  of  industry,  demo¬ 
cratic,  201  ff. 

Cooperation,  21 1  ff.;  various 
forms  of  farmers’,  156-157. 

Cooperative:  store,  73,  215- 
216;  Wholesale  Society  of 
Manchester,  226-227;  cream¬ 
ery,  223  ;  bootmakers,  225  ; 
credit  associations.  See 
Banks. 

Cooperative  production,  possi¬ 
bilities  of,  220;  perfect  form 
of,  224;  and  Socialism,  228- 
229. 

Corners,  58,  65. 

Corporations,  53 ;  and  justice, 
56. 

Corporation  agent,  156. 

Cost  of  high  living,  18. 

Credit,  for  poorer  classes, 
213  ff.;  associations.  See 
Banks. 

Credit  systems  for  farmer,  161. 
See  Banks. 

D 

Dairy,  cooperative,  222-223. 

Defense  Association,  employ¬ 
ers’,  121. 

Democratic  control  of  indus¬ 
try,  2ot  ff.;  by  cooperation, 
216. 


INDEX 


Democracy,  Christian,  116, 
149-150,  272  ff. 

Diseases,  occupational,  19. 

Distribution  of  ownership,  be¬ 
fore  the  world  war,  4,  5 ; 
Catholic  ideal,  43,  98,  108- 
109,  149- 

Dividends,  19,  45;  deceptive, 
54,  55- 

Domestic  service,  263, 

Drummers,  68. 

E 

Economic  conditions,  influence 
on  virtuous  living,  77-78 ; 
constant  fluctuation  of,  186- 
187. 

Economic  problems,  enumera¬ 
tion  and  definition  of,  13  ff. 

Education,  social,  179,  284;  of 
woman  worker,  271. 

Efficiency,  and  large  scale  in¬ 
dustries,  53-54;  and  profits, 
54;  and  Socialism,  102,  208- 
209. 

Elizabeth,  Queen,  woman  labor 
statute,  252. 

Eminent  domain,  237. 

Employers,  sincere  Christian, 
7-8,  22. 

Employment  Exchanges,  155  ff. 

Encyclicals.  See  Leo  XIII, 
Pius  X,  Benedict  XV. 

Engels,  Frederick,  on  State  So¬ 
cialism,  27. 

Ethics  of  just  prices,  44#.;  of 
monopolistic  prices,  53  ff.;  of 
godless  capitalism,  37  ff.;  45. 


29s 

Equality  of  opportunity  and  the 
Church,  33. 

Extravagance,  18,  249. 

F 

Factory  System,  165-168. 

Family  wage.  See  Wage. 

Farm,  Socialist  doctrine,  24- 
25;  factory  type  of,  156;  ma¬ 
chinery  for,  156;  transporta¬ 
tion  problem  on,  14-15;  co¬ 
operative  enterprises,  157, 
222 ff.;  Catholic  colonization, 
139-140,  170. 

Farm  labor  problem,  157-158. 

Farm  problem,  154  ff. 

Farmers,  class  of  small,  154^.; 
and  Socialism,  168. 

Fathers  and  Doctors  of  Church 
on  labor,  178-179. 

Feminism,  244. 

Feudal  system,  187. 

Finance,  commercial,  public 
control  of,  63. 

“  Financing  ”  an  enterprise, 
55-56. 

Force,  99,  112. 

Forestalling  the  market,  67,  70. 

Francis  of  Assisi,  St.,  152. 

Freedom  of  speech,  118. 

G 

Gild:  Catholic,  and  large  for¬ 
tunes,  xo;  and  modern  social 
reforms,  31;  distribution  of 
ownership,  39-40;  prices,  48; 
consumer,  65,  173 ;  purchases, 


INDEX 


296 

65  ff .;  quality  and  quantity 
of  goods,  70;  non-gildsmen, 
71;  wage  regulations,  90; 
over-spreading  Europe,  171 ; 
advanced  legislation,  172  ff.; 
closed  shop,  172-173 ;  train¬ 
ing  of  apprentices,  173-174; 
deterioration  of,  119,  174; 
freedom  won,  187;  elements 
of  readjustment,  188,  230; 
despoiled,  189-190;  cooper¬ 
ation,  216;  modern  gild 
ideals,  210,  217,  221;  gild  of 
woman  goldsmiths,  251 ; 
woman’s  place  in  gild,  251- 
252;  merchant  gild  statutes, 

66  ff.;  craft  gilds,  journey¬ 
men  gilds,  1 14. 

Gild  Socialism,  205-206,  210. 

Gilds,  Local,  210;  National, 
205-206,  210. 

Government  control.  See  Con¬ 
trol. 

Government  ownership.  See 
Ownership. 

H 

Harris,  E.,  quoted  on  cooper¬ 
ation,  73-74- 

High  cost  of  living,  18. 

History,  critical  periods  of, 
186-187. 

Hobbes,  “  Leviathan,”  234. 

Home,  to  be  safeguarded,  147 ; 
broken  up,  148. 

Hours  of  labor,  84,  101,  147; 
long,  19;  and  women,  r66. 

Housing  problem,  16-17,  95* 


I 

I.  W.  W.,  88,  131,  166,  229. 

Idle  rich,  6,  19. 

Immigrant  girls,  dangers  for, 
136. 

Immigrants,  and  unemploy¬ 
ment,  136;  distribution 
of,  138  ff.;  opportunity  for, 
on  farm,  139,  162;  Catho¬ 
lic  colonization,  1 39-140, 
170. 

Income  taxes,  63. 

Individual  bargaining,  47,  80, 
175- 

Individualism,  36  ff.,  174  ff. 
See  Reformation. 

Industrial  accidents,  19 ;  dis¬ 
eases,  19;  poisoning,  264- 
65. 

Industrial  peace,  119  ff. 

Industrial  lords,  modern,  21 1. 

Industries,  large  scale,  9 ; 
democratic  control  of,  9, 
201  ff. 

Infant  mortality,  193 

Insurance,  State,  85,  193  ff.; 
unemployment,  142-143 ;  va¬ 
rious  kinds  of  social  insur¬ 
ance,  85;  social  in  Germany, 
196. 

Irish  Archbishops  and  Bishops 
on  Socialism,  29-30. 

Irish  Monthly,  on  cooperation, 
215-216,  223,  225. 

Irish  Theological  Quarterly, 
on  prices,  64. 

Irreligion,  modern,  source  of 
social  evils,  r6,  193. 


INDEX 


J 

Jews,  and  modern  capitalism, 
40  ff.;  and  labor  in  Old  Tes¬ 
tament,  75. 

Jobber,  68. 

Joseph,  St,  20;  and  unemploy¬ 
ment,  151. 

Journeymen,  171;  gilds,  114. 

Jurisdiction,  right  of,  by  State, 
23  5#- 

K 

Ketteler,  Bishop,  106,  206. 

L 

Labor  bureaus,  135  ff.;  and 
strikers,  141. 

Labor,  duties  of  State  towards, 
75  ff'»  oppression  of,  39  ff.; 
duties  of,  99  ff.;  pagan  dis¬ 
dain  for,  75. 

Labor  organizations,  attitude  of 
Church  towards,  171  ff.;  and 
Reformation,  174  ff.;  and 
wages,  88;  woman  and  child 
labor  combated  by,  258. 

Labor  Party,  British,  program 
of,  61 ;  and  prices,  62-63. 

Labor  problem,  15,  hi  ff. 

Labor  retardation,  99  ff. 

Laissez-faire  policy,  64,  79-80, 
183. 

Legislation,  social:  nature  and 
necessity  of,  75  ff.,  87  ff., 
185  ff.;  and  Reformation, 
188  ff.;  different  forms  of, 
194,  197,  198 ;  Catholic  ideal, 
240;  tenement  labor,  257. 


297 

Leo  XIII,  his  encyclicals  quoted 
on  following  questions:  Cap¬ 
ital  and  labor,  35;  duty  of 
State  towards  labor,  77-78, 
79;  higher  life  of  laborer, 
83,  84;  hours  of  labor,  84; 
reasons  for  State  interfer¬ 
ence,  85-86;  living  wage, 
92-93  »  distribution  of  owner¬ 
ship,  98 ;  need  of  reform,  103 ; 
oppression  of  labor,  104; 
class  struggle,  105;  violence, 
107;  duties  of  employers, 
107;  strikes,  117;  land,  154; 
radical  labor  organizations, 
177-178;  ideal  labor  organi¬ 
zation,  182-183  1  oppression 
of  labor,  189 ;  single  tax,  207 ; 
State  and  property,  238 ; 
earth  to  minister  to  all,  239; 
woman,  245 ;  greedy  specu¬ 
lators,  253 ;  aims  of  Christian 
Democracy,  273-274;  social 
question  a  religious  matter, 
275 ;  warning  to  society,  276 ; 
duties  of  the  rich,  279. 

L’Ermite,  Pierre,  and  farm 
problem,  163  ff. 

Liberalism,  economic,  38  ff.,  47, 
113,  116,  150. 

Liberty,  not  license,  118. 

Limitation  of  output,  99  ff. 

Living  wage.  See  Wage. 

Local  Gilds,  210. 

Lock-outs,  120. 

Love  of  God  and  neighbor,  283. 

Lucas,  S.J.,  Rev.  Herbert,  63, 
205. 

Luxury,  5. 


298 


INDEX 


M 

Machinery:  and  unemployment, 
149 ;  oppression  of  labor, 
175;  and  the  farmer,  156, 
222;  woman  in  competition 
with,  253-254. 

Manning,  Cardinal,  256-257. 

Manorial  days,  154. 

Married  women  in  industry. 
See  Woman  worker. 

Mary,  model  of  women,  20, 
244;  and  unemployment,  151. 

Marx,  27;  and  social  revolu¬ 
tion,  106. 

Marxian  theory  of  deteriora¬ 
tion,  21-22. 

Masters,  gild,  171. 

Maternity  and  labor.  See 
Woman  Worker. 

Merchant  gild  statutes,  66  ff.; 
restrictions,  71. 

Middle  Ages:  attitude  towards 
spirit  of  gain,  37-38 ;  prices, 
48,  63,  64;  sales,  65  ff.;  co¬ 
operation,  74;  strikes,  114; 
labor  bureaus,  135;  trade  or¬ 
ganizations,  171 ;  monas¬ 
teries,  174;  periods  of  eco¬ 
nomic  stability,  186;  learned 
women,  241;  woman’s  work, 
251.  See  Gilds. 

Middle  Ages,  spirit  of,  re¬ 
turned,  63,  64.  See  Catho¬ 
lic. 

Middleman,  problem  of,  65  ff.; 
and  farmer,  14,  161,  222. 

Minimum  wage,  its  meaning, 
91  ff .,  1 14;  objections  against^ 


95;  boards,  9;  physical  in¬ 
ability  to  earn,  95-96;  for 
woman  and  man  respec¬ 
tively,  259. 

Monopoly,  age  of,  53 ;  evils  of, 
54-55  ;  legal  and  public,  57; 
private,  57;  general  laws  of 
private,  58-60;  natural,  203; 
artificial,  25. 

Monopolistic  prices,  morality 
of  53  ff • 

Month,  on  prices,  61-63 ;  on 
State  control  of  industries, 
205. 

Moralists,  Catholic,  regarding 
prices,  48-52 ;  monopolies, 
59;  wages,  93. 

Mothers’  pensions,  198. 

N 

National  Gilds,  205-206. 

Nationalization  of  land,  206; 
opposed  by  the  Holy  See, 
207. 

Nationalization,  under  Social¬ 
ism.  See  Ownership. 

Night  work  of  women,  266- 
277. 

O 

O’Brien,  Cruise,  quoted  on 
cooperation,  215-216,  223, 

225. 

Organization,  labor,  and  the 
Church,  39-40,  88-89;  of 
woman  workers,  271. 

Overpopulation,  145  ff. 


INDEX 


299 


Overproduction  prevented,  70. 

Overtime  work  for  women,  266. 

Ownership,  definition  of,  232; 
private  and  public,  28,  30, 

202  if.,  234  ff.;  and  State, 
26  ff.,  32,  208-210,  232  ff.; 
distribution  of,  208 ;  under 
Socialism,  24  ff.,  233-234; 
private,  whence  derived, 
238  ft.;  public  and  efficiency, 

203  ff.;  public  of  land,  206; 
and  Christian  Democracy, 
277. 

P 

Paganism  and  labor,  75. 

Parasite  class,  5,  19-20; 

woman,  242. 

Pauperism  and  Reformation, 
196;  Germany,  196. 

Peasants’  War,  188. 

Penty,  Arthur  J.,  on  produc¬ 
tion  for  quality,  Local  Gilds, 
210. 

Picketing,  morality  of,  181. 

Pius  X,  on  labor’s  obligations, 
99 ;  Catholic  organizations 
for  labor,  183;  our  social 
aims  in  brief,  285-286. 

Plutocratic  regime,  201. 

Political  economy,  modern,  256. 

Politician,  average,  156. 

Politics,  and  unemployment  re¬ 
lief,  134,  136;  dangers  of, 
under  public  ownership,  204. 

Poverty,  5,  17-18. 

Price  agreements,  58. 

Price,  legal,  48;  common  or 


natural,  highest,  lowest, 
mean  common  price,  etc., 
48#. 

Prices,  excessive,  22;  ethics  of 
just,  44  ff.;  monopolistic, 
53  ff stability  in,  228. 

Prison  labor,  198-200. 

Production,  under  Socialism, 
208-209.  See  Socialism;  for 
quality,  210;  cooperative, 
220  ff.;  cooperative  and  So¬ 
cialist  contrasted,  228-229. 

Productive  cooperation,  220  ff. 

Productive  property,  different 
kinds,  202  ff. 

Profiteers,  22,  64. 

Profits,  excessive,  37  if.,  113; 
and  Church,  39,  45 ;  and  ef¬ 
ficiency,  54;  wages  before, 
91;  just,  195. 

Profit  sharing,  218;  object  of 
employers,  219. 

Property,  and  State,  232  ff.; 
rights  of  acquiring,  whence 
derived,  238  ff.  See  Owner¬ 
ship. 

Prosperity,  87;  true,  150;  na¬ 
tional  and  public,  274. 

Public  relief  work,  132-135. 

Public  Relief  Fund,  196. 

Public  service  utilities,  202, 
204-205,  240. 

Public  works,  13  3-1 34. 

Public  Works  Act,  133. 

R 

Race  suicide,  145-146. 

Radical  capitalism  and  radical 


INDEX 


300 

labor,  m  ft.,  275,  276. 

Radicalism,  10,  12,  139,  191, 
275- 

Railway,  and  farmer,  14-15, 
159-160;  “financing,”  55- 
56. 

Reconstruction  demanded,  3, 
12,  250;  at  various  periods  in 
past,  186-187. 

Reformation :  its  effect  on  labor 
organization,  39-40,  174; 

and  rationalistic  capitalism, 
40^.,  174,  189;  and  social 
legislation,  188  ft.;  and  au¬ 
tocracies,  189-190;  and 
woman  labor,  252. 

Reiffeisen,  credit  associations, 
21 3-21 5. 

Religion,  no  social  solution 
without,  73,  no,  z2z,  174  ft., 
230,  275. 

Retailer,  68;  small  retailer  and 
profits,  73. 

Rich,  the  idle,  6,  19;  unjust, 
37  ft* 

“  Right  to  loaf,”  147. 

Rings,  58,  59. 

Ryan,  Rev.  John  A.,  D.D.,  91, 
101,  224-225. 

S 

Schulze-Delitzsch  popular  ur¬ 
ban  banks,  225. 

Scripture:  the  Last  Judgment, 
20;  the  unjust  rich  men,  38; 
Isaias  on  social  service,  78; 
Christ’s  ideal  of  service, 
281 ;  St.  John  on  brotherly 


love,  283 ;  a  cup  of  cold 
water,  283. 

Serf,  76,  254. 

“  Servile  State,”  201. 

Servant  problem  and  Queen 
Elizabeth,  252. 

Service,  Christian,  280  ft. 

Sexes,  occupations  of,  245. 

Sharing,  66. 

Shareholders  and  corporation, 
55,  21 1 ;  under  cooperative 
system,  215  ft.,  220  ft. 

Single  Tax,  land  nationaliza¬ 
tion,  206-207;  unearned  in¬ 
crement,  207. 

Slaves,  under  Roman  law,  75; 
after  barbarian  invasion,  76; 
freed  by  Church,  76. 

Social,  duties,  14,  78;  reform, 
31;  legislation,  iS6ff.;  in¬ 
surance,  193  ft. 

Social  problems,  13  ft.;  a  reli¬ 
gious  issue,  77-79 ;  Divine 
remedy,  152-153. 

Social  study  centers,  179. 

Socialism:  dangers  of,  xi;  and 
the  laborer,  11-12;  and 
thrift,  18;  substance  of, 
24  ft.;  orthodox,  24;  various 
forms,  24-26;  and  land,  24- 
25;  its  philosophy  and  atti¬ 
tude  towards  religion,  28-29 ; 
and  Catholic  social  reform, 
31 ;  “  Religion  a  private  mat¬ 
ter,”  32-33;  and  equality, 
33-34,  149;  borrowed  plu¬ 
mage  of,  81;  inefficiency  un¬ 
der,  102,  208-209;  and  class 
struggle,  104-106;  radical- 


INDEX 


301 


ism  of,  in  ff.;  and  race  sui¬ 
cide,  145-146;  “right  to 
loaf,”  147;  bureaucratic  ab¬ 
solutism  under,  149;  on  the 
farm,  169-170;  and  Christi¬ 
anity,  176;  and  labor  un¬ 
ionism,  177-178 ;  false  policy 
in  opposing  it,  191 ;  a  pana¬ 
cea,  202 ;  and  desire  for  own¬ 
ership,  208 ;  and  cooperation, 
228-229;  and  doctrines  of 
ownership,  233;  and  confis¬ 
cation,  233-234,  237;  and 
woman,  243 ;  and  Christian 
Democracy,  274,  276,  277- 
278. 

Socialism,  Gild,  205-206. 

Socialists,  Irish  Bishops  re¬ 
garding,  29-30;  and  the 
Church,  29-34;  as  converts, 
34- 

Solidarity,  Christian,  33. 

Sombart,  Werner,  on  capital¬ 
ism,  40^. 

Socialization,  25. 

State :  control.  See  Control ; 
insurance,  193  ff.;  interven¬ 
tion,  63,  65,  75  ff.;  and  labor, 
75  ff.;  and  wages,  87  ff.;  and 
property,  232  ff.;  regulation, 
228;  its  duty  regarding 
woman,  247  ff.,  266  ff. 

State  Socialism,  26  ff. 

State  ownership.  See  Owner¬ 
ship. 

Strikes:  m  ff.;  when  justified, 
115,  117;  rights  of  public  in 
regard  to,  118;  sympathetic, 
123  ff-;  general,  127-128. 


Stockholders,  54,  55,  211. 

Stock-watering,  54-55. 

Sunday  labor,  18-19,  82. 

Surplus  gain,  54,  55,  60. 

Sweated  labor,  boycott  of,  169; 
and  women,  254^.;  bosses 
and  women,  257,  266. 

Sympathetic  strikes,  definition, 
different  kinds  and  their 
morality,  123  ff. 

Syndicalism,  202,  229. 

T 

Talmud  on  woman,  242. 

Tax,  income,  63,  228;  gradu¬ 
ated,  205 ;  single,  206-207. 

Taxation,  and  property  rights, 
237-238;  indirect,  57. 

Tenement  labor,  257. 

Teresa,  St.,  153,  241,  282. 

Thomas,  St.,  on  just  prices, 
46,  50;  excessive  prices,  51; 
property,  236. 

Thrift,  18,  217,  248. 

Trade  Agreements,  1 19-122. 

Trade  unions,  and  unskilled  la¬ 
bor,  88-90;  and  woman  and 
child  labor.  See  Labor. 

Transportation  problem,  68; 
on  farm,  159  ff. 

Trusts,  53. 

U 

Underselling,  60-61. 

Unearned  increment,  95,  207. 

Unemployment :  the  problem, 
15-16,  130  ff.;  its  nature  and 


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